Mail thieves busy locally
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

Have you ever seen U.S. mail blowing in the wind?

More incidents of mail theft are occurring in Southern California. If thieves find nothing useful, stolen mail is probably dropped and flutters wherever the breeze blows.

Authorities have heard numerous accounts of stolen credit card statements and approval applications. Blank or written checks have been lifted from mailboxes and used fraudulently. In addition to checks that were missing (to pay bills for gas, power and other expenses), there have been reports of missing college tuition checks––and very unhappy, unregistered students.

"Mail theft in the Southland has increased," said Terry Thome, mail inspector at the U.S. Postal Service office in Pasadena. A special division of "mail police" is assigned directly to mail tampering.

Safa Egilmez, a crime analyst at Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, said postal inspectors are notified immediately after a mail theft. Both Thome and Egilmez explained that mail burglars are difficult to catch.

The actual perpetrators are hard to catch because they’re often elements in a larger operation being paid to steal certain articles of mail. Egilmez explained that mail theft sometimes involves professionals who use stolen identities.

Juveniles are often blamed unfairly.

"We don’t know if the suspects are juvenile or not," said Egilmez of mail theft. In some cases, kids were having fun by stealing mail only to dispose of it down the street.

While adults can go to federal prison for tampering with mail, the dynamics are different with kids.

"Juvenile incidents are taken case by case," said Thome. A first time offense is taken into consideration, but federal courts don’t handle juveniles. Those cases are immediately directed to juvenile authorities. Juvenile hall is the likely destination for underage mail thieves. Mandatory counseling must also take place.

The postal inspector’s office has offered rewards up to $10,000 to someone who catches a suspect in the act of mail theft or tampering. Thome explained that some people put surveillance cameras on mailboxes and have even caught thieves. But the best way to avoid problems is being careful, he said.

Thome suggested not using the red flags mailboxes. The postman will know if mail is going out or not. The flag just advertises that there’s mail inside to be stolen. A locking mailbox can help, too. It works for incoming mail; outgoing mail should be dropped at a post office or a mailing box.

"There’s too much precious information in the mail," said Thome. If you use blue street mailboxes, Thome recommended checking the collection times.

"If the last pickup was at 5 p.m., don’t put your mail in there at 6 p.m.," said Thome. Blue boxes are occasionally broken into, usually at night when mail is dropped off too late.

Another good tip is to shred your credit card approval notices. There have been cases of thieves digging through trash to find them. Thome also recommended a yearly credit check.

To report mail theft or tampering, please call (626) 405-1200. And be sure to call the sheriff’s department.