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Police are seeking to identify a suspect vehicle that was spotted taking mail from a residential mailbox in Trumbull near the borders of Monroe and Shelton on Monday, Nov. 28.
The small white vehicle was observed stopping at mailboxes where the passenger reached out, opened the mailbox, and stole the contents before leaving the area, said Lt. Brian Weir, of the Trumbull Police.
Many of these crimes are committed by thieves who approach a mailbox by vehicle, steal the contents, and then quickly drive away, Weir said.
"The Trumbull Police Department would like to remind the public of an increase in these types of crimes which have recently become an increasing problem in many areas of Trumbull and are also occurring in many areas throughout the state," he added.
According to Weir, the thieves look for residential mailboxes that have their outgoing mail flags in the upright position, alerting mail to be collected, and then thieves steal the contents from within.
Thieves are also targeting USPS collection boxes, by gaining access to these bigger mailboxes to steal larger amounts of mail in a shorter amount of time, Weir said.
Weir said the thieves then sort through the stolen mail to recover checks and other valuables. When checks are stolen, thieves will alter and fraudulently cash the stolen checks. Thieves may even use information from the stolen checks to gain access to the victim’s bank account.
if you observe suspicious activity in your neighborhood or around mail collection boxes don't confront or follow the suspects, call the police right away.
To contact the Trumbull Police Department please call 203-261-3665, or dial 911 for all emergencies. To contact the US Postal Service please call 877-876-2455.
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