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Officers investigated reports of personal checks being stolen from residential mailboxes in New Canaan on Ferris Hill Road and West Road, the New Canaan Police Department reported on Monday, Aug. 22.
According to police, the checks were "washed" and made payable to individuals who weren't the intended payees.
Those who steal mail can "wash" the checks by erasing the ink with chemicals and rewriting the checks to themselves.
Police offered the following tips to prevent mail thefts:
- Get to know your neighbors, watch out for them, and report suspicious activity in your neighborhood immediately.
- Avoid leaving mail in your residential mailbox. Bring sensitive outgoing mail to the post office rather than leaving mail in your residential mailbox for pick-up.
- Consider getting a locking residential mailbox. There are many residential mailbox options that allow mail to be delivered, but require a key to retrieve the mail.
- Report mail theft to police and to USPS.
- Request a vacation hold, even if you're only away for a few days.
- Sign up for informed delivery so you will know when sensitive mail will arrive.
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