In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any fraudulent scheme to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services via mail or wire communication. It has been a federal crime in the United States since 1872.

In the 1960s and '70s, inspectors under regional chief postal inspectors such as Martin McGee, known as "Mr. Mail Fraud," exposed and prosecuted numerous swindles involving land sales, phony advertising practices, insurance ripoffs and fraudulent charitable organizations using mail fraud charges.

18 U.S.C. § 1341 provides:

18 U.S.C. § 1343 provides:

18 U.S.C. § 1346 provides:

There are three elements to mail and wire fraud:

To be fraudulent, a misrepresentation must be material.

Mail fraud does not require that the mailing cross state lines; however, wire fraud does require that the wire communication cross state lines.

In McNally v. United States (1987), the Supreme Court held that 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1343 did not reach "honest services fraud." Congress responded by passing 18 U.S.C. § 1346. In Skilling v. United States (2010), the Court construed § 1346 to apply only to bribes and kickbacks.