Fairfield Police are investigating after several reports of mail theft, resulting in check fraud.
Officials said they've received at least six reports of mail being stolen from mailboxes in the overnight hours since September. Some of these cases included checks, which resulted in check fraud, according to police.
Police said they believe more cases of theft happened during this time.
Detectives notified the U.S. Postal Service about these incidents and they're actively working with police to investigate and find out who's responsible.
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“It is as important as ever that residents remain vigilant and take steps to prevent mail theft around this time of year as there is typically an increase in checks, cash and gift cards being placed in mailboxes to be mailed out,” Chief Robert Kalamaras said in a statement.
The USPS released the following tips to help prevent mail theft:
- Deposit all outgoing mail at your local post office or hand it to a uniformed USPS letter carrier.
- Avoid putting outgoing mail into mailboxes overnight as the raised flag signals to a thief that there is outgoing mail within the mailbox.
- Deposit your outgoing mail in a blue USPS collection box prior to the last pickup time of the day.
- If you do not receive a check, credit card, or other valuable mail you’re expecting, contact the sender as soon as possible and inquire about it. Never send cash through the mail.
- When mailing something important, consider requesting Signature Confirmation for the intended recipient.
- Do not leave mail or packages next to a collection box if it is full, or if your package does not fit.
Anyone who thinks they may have had their mail stolen is asked to contact police at 203-254-4800.
