ID theft is on the rise with fraudsters targeting letterboxes to find personal information

MAIL theft is on the rise across Sydney and police are warning householders after one victim was hit for $19,000.

CCTV footage of mail theft from apartment building mailboxes in Pyrmont, Sydney, NSW, on 23/11/09. Thieves are looking to st...

MAIL theft is on the rise across Sydney and police are warning householders after one victim was hit for $19,000.

Police say the money was stolen from a bank account in August after details were taken from a lower north shore letter box.

The alleged offender was arrested at Wollstonecraft earlier this month and was found to have $16,000 worth of bank cheques on him.

Harbourside police chief Allan Sicard said mail theft was a widespread and increasing problem.

“It’s not just our area. It’s any area with high-density living,” he said.

“There is a definite trend in the last 12 months. Internet fraud and ID theft is more prevalent.”

Thieves are looking for credit cards and cheques in the mail.

Offenders were looking for a range of material.

“Credit cards, cheques or as simple as identity information. Anything that helps with ID fraud,” he said.

Unit blocks are the main targets and Superintendent Sicard called for strata managers to install CCTV cameras to overlook mailboxes.

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Industry body Strata Community Australia said mail theft had become an issue over the past 12 months and that residents are complaining.

“It’s on the rise for certain,” the group’s NSW vice-president Hugh McCormack said.

“In a number of buildings it’s become an issue.”

He said letterboxes locks are easy to pick and that thieves also used crowbars to force them open.

CCTV footage of mail theft from apartment building mailboxes in Pyrmont.

Victims often don’t realise their letters have been stolen.

Not many buildings had cameras, he said. He advised unit blocks to move letterboxes indoors if possible and to have mail delivered electronically.

Harbourside Superintendent Allan Sicard says mail theft is rife. Picture: ELENOR TEDENBORG

He has found that everything is taken and that they are not stealing anything of any perceived value. Often victims don’t realise their letters have been stolen and the crime usually happens in the middle of the night.

Superintendent Sicard urged people to contact police immediately if they notice anything suspicious.

“In a unit block they know when someone shouldn’t be there,” he said.

“Ring us, take a photo and take a description.”

A resident of an apartment block in Wollstonecraft, who did not wish to be named, contacted the Mosman Daily after noticing the letterboxes were opened five nights in a row.

Letters were blowing up the street one morning and a resident got an energy disconnection notice out of the blue after bills had been stolen.

“Most of them are very upset because they are expecting things. Some were waiting for new credit cards. It’s the unknown factor,” she said.

Supt Sicard’s top tips to tackle mailbox theft

- Clear your mail everyday

- If you are in strata situation consider if the letter boxes could be in a more secure location only accessible by the tenants

- Consider installing CCTV overlooking the mailboxes

- Consider a different style of mailbox that cannot be opened by a skeleton key or forced open

- Consider a PO Box

- Collect credit cards from the bank

- Cheques can be transferred electronically

- Sign up for electronic statements

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