As reports of mail theft continue around the area, the Morton Grove Police Department disclosed last week that mailboxes outside village’s post office were targeted in mid-January.
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A bulletin released by the police department on Friday noted that the post office mailboxes at 9114 Waukegan Road were discovered open on Jan. 16.
According to a department police report, the doors of two of the three mailboxes in front of the post office were open and the locks were in the “closed position.” One of the locks was slightly bent, initially making it difficult for a post office representative to re-secure the box, police said.
Neither box had visible signs that they had been pried open and both contained mail, according to police.
A mail carrier told police he locked the boxes on Jan. 15 and “was certain the doors were closed.”
It is unclear if any mail was removed from the boxes.
Incidents of mail stolen from U.S. Post Office mailboxes and checks altered and cashed by people who are not the intended recipients have been reported around the Chicago area. The cases are being handled by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Outside the nearby Niles Post Office, 6977 W. Oakton St., mail was reported stolen from boxes on Jan. 15 and again on Jan. 17, police said. Damage to the boxes was reported on the 17th.
Just last week, a business in Niles reported that a check for $14,000 that was mailed in October was discovered to have been altered and cashed for $214,000, police said.
Police in Glenview reported that a mailbox at the southeast corner of the post office at 1400 Patriot Boulevard was broken into between 6 p.m., Jan. 15 and 5 p.m., Jan. 17.
Mailboxes throughout the village of Lincolnwood have been targeted by thieves for over a year, according to Lincolnwood police, who have turned over the cases to the U.S. Postal Inspection Services. Theft of mail continued to be reported in January, said Deputy Police Chief Travis Raypole.
A man whom authorities said was found with a U.S. Postal Service mailbox key and stolen mail was arrested in September after a bin of mail was removed from mailboxes outside the Park Ridge Post Office, 333 Busse Highway.
Lincolnwood Police are advising the use of gel pens on personal checks if they are sent through the mail to pay bills. Raypole said the gel ink is harder for criminals to remove when they go through the process of altering a stolen check.
Anyone who believes they are the victim of stolen mail should filed a report with the police department where the mail was dropped off and should also file a report with the Postal Inspection Service by calling 877-876-2455, said Silvia Carrier, spokeswoman with the Postal Inspection Service. Victims of mail theft should also monitor their financial accounts and credit profiles, she said.