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Thieves ransack mailboxes in Ventura
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Residents of a posh Ventura neighborhood lost more than their mail when thieves ransacked their mailboxes in the middle of the night.
Many also lost their trust in something they had long taken for granted: the ability to send mail from the corner box without fear it will be pilfered.
"I'm more likely to take my mail to the post office or send it from work," said Alex Mizraji, who lives on Pierce Street in a section of east Ventura known as Presidential Estates. Thieves have targeted many mailboxes in the area.
Police say thieves try to get their hands on mail any way they can. Community mailboxes, like the ones in Presidential Estates, are especially attractive because they are clustered. Anyone prying the back off one has access to numerous mailboxes.
Thieves are looking for anything of value, especially checks, credit cards and other financial information. They use this information to make expensive purchases or steal identities.
Jordan Kurtz lives a block up from Mizraji on Nixon Court. Kurtz said thieves pried open the community mailbox on his corner some six months ago. Shortly afterward, a creditor called saying $1,200 worth of purchases had been made with the family's credit card.
The Postal Service replaced the box with a newer, more tamper-proof one after it was broken into a second time, Kurtz said. The Postal Service also placed the new community mailbox on a more prominent part of Nixon Court as an added deterrent.
Investigators often have a hard time tracking down mail thieves, said Glen Utter, a Ventura police sergeant. For starters, the mailboxes are usually broken into in the middle of the night. Victims often don't know that valuable information was taken until a credit card company notifies them, as happened with the Kurtz family.
Despite these difficulties, the U.S. Postal Service is determined to track down the thieves.
"We're aggressively investigating the thefts in Ventura, Oxnard" and elsewhere in Ventura County, said Renee Focht, a postal inspector in Pasadena. Postal inspectors are working with police investigators from Oxnard and Ventura.
The public's cooperation is the key to solving these crimes, Focht said. Anyone whose mail has been stolen or who knows of such a crime should call the Postal Service at 877-876-2455. Mail-theft victims can also file a report online at www.usps.com/postalinspectors.
The Postal Service offers rewards of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of anyone stealing or destroying mail.
Even with thefts, the U.S. mail remains a safe system, one which successfully delivers millions of pieces of mail every day, Focht said.
A survey of Americans conducted last October and released in February found that 9 percent of identity theft and fraud cases involved information obtained from stolen mail. About 4 percent involved information obtained from online purchases, according to the survey done by Javelin Strategy & Research Inc. of Pleasanton.
The biggest source of stolen information — 38 percent — was lost or stolen wallets, checkbooks and credit cards. Another 15 percent was traced to thefts by friends, acquaintances and relatives. An equal amount of stolen information stemmed from in-store or telephone purchases.
To minimize the chances of fraud or stolen mail, people should either use a very secure mailbox or take it to the post office.
Consumers should also stop getting statements in the mail that contain sensitive financial information, said Rachel Kim, a research associate with Javelin. Instead, they should get their statements via the Internet, she said.
The Javelin survey found that identity theft and fraud was actually declining across the nation, dropping 12 percent from the previous year. Much of the drop was due to increased awareness by consumers, businesses and others, researchers said.
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Posted by lrgvanman on September 16, 2007 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I will get removed if I say how I really feel about this, however, I will say that it irks me to be aware of the existence these thieving parasites. I hope they are caught and they are really fully prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Posted by mattdorros on September 16, 2007 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
These folks should not be forced to have "Community Mailboxes"? My mailbox is at my house - and I have not had any problems. I think that the communal mailboxes are just another shortcut on the part of the Post Office. They are inconvenient and vulnerable to crime. The residents are inconvenienced there is minimal benefit for the post office who is still paid to deliver the mail.
Posted by bearbigdog2 on September 16, 2007 at 10:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe if the postal customer had their mail box up by the front door this I think would be more of a thieft deterrent. Unfortunately, when new homes are built, the U.S.P.S. installs the central mailboxes and the thiefts keep occuring.
Posted by imbetnonit on September 16, 2007 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, we cannot protect our mailboxes from thugs with a crowbar. I'm no expert, but wouldn't an alarm, camera or a gps signal sent to the post office or police dept. be posssible? Why does the answer to every problem have to be that the victims need to change their behavior. What about the rights of law abiding citizens?
Maybe it's time to start demanding that our government do something for the productive citizens in this country and stop enabling the criminals who feed off us.
Posted by moyalva2003 on September 16, 2007 at 11:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
As an Oxnard letter carrier all i can say is this can be prevented. Just make it habit on picking up your mail from the communal mailboxes EVERYDAY! They're residents that are too lazy to walk up to half a block to get their mail. I personally dont like communal mailboxes but they're there to stay.
Posted by VenturaN on September 16, 2007 at 12:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I tried internet billing. It is not guaranteed, even with confirmation when the bank delays payment. First time in my life I had late charges. Stop the thieves!
Posted by techsavy on September 16, 2007 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We tried to relocate our mailbox from the street to our house. Our tract is an older 1960's tract where everyone has a box on the house except our house and the one next door (may have been dog related from the previous owner). We wanted to relocate it because our carrier will leave the mail at the side of the post, on the ground, if it cannot fit in the mailbox. It'll sit out there in plain view until I come from work to bring it in.
Since we're pretty much the ONLY house on the block with a mailbox on the street we didn't think it was a big deal. WRONG!
Our mistake was calling to ask if we could do this thinking it was dog related and therefore could be edited in their books. The reply was "No, once it's on the street it has to stay there!" Apparently the routes are timed and they are counting on our box being on the street or else the route time will be impacted!
We even called the head postmaster on Santa Clara street and was told the same thing. When we brought up that a neighbor removed her mailbox (the house is for sale and shows better) we got grilled to give up their address!!
"If you're concerned about mail theft, get a locking mailbox" was what we were told. This story just proves that even then you're not safe.
We should have never asked. Now they know for SURE we have one on the street (it came with the house that way probably because it was fashionable and had nothing to do with a dog problem).
Oh, and we were told it's okay that the postal carrier is leaving oversize mail on the ground next to the mailbox - they don't have to walk 30 ft to put it at the door!
Dave
Posted by My2Cents on September 17, 2007 at 12:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
techsavy--- we experience a problem with our mail many years ago, and yes, it WAS dog related... The idiot mail carrier peppered sprayed our puppy. Yes, our PUPPY. Well, that puppy eventually got older, old enough to jump a fence an go after the mail carrier that 1-year earlier had pepper sprayed him. We went through the whole thing of putting a mailbox by our front gate entrance, however, the dog kept chasing the mailcarrier. We eventually had to pick-up our mail from the post office. We tried to get our mail delivered back to our door and it was a tough battle, they tried to tell us we couldn't because the new delivery location was now established---rubbish. We fought and we were able to get our mail delivered back at our doorstep! We no longer have the dog :( and we no longer have the mailcarrier... Good Luck!
Posted by shaver_one on September 17, 2007 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
1. Communal mailboxes are a nusance to everyone BUT the mailman. Get rid of them and go back to home delivery. Make the masilman do his/her job. That's the only safegaurd people have.
2. According to the US Postal Service, the mailboxes belong to the Federal Government, not the homeowner.
3. It IS a pain, but with enough deligence, you can get them to recognize a new location of an individual box (not communal boxes).
If the USPS refuses to recognize a new location, and your mail is stolen, it is their sole responsibility. Threaten to sue...and keep threatening. Eventually, they will recognize a new location.
Posted by lm_willard on September 17, 2007 at 3:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm surprised that everyone is blaming this on the USPS. What about the idiots that drove up to the mailbox, pried the back off, and stole the mail?
Many independent mailboxes aren't locked; so why are they safer? If they are at the curb, it's just as likely they would be pilfered. You even have to put up your nice red flag so that they know you are sending something.
This whole thing really ticks me off -- I lived in an apt. in Ventura and there was an outgoing box that I dropped 3 bills into. The box was broken into in the middle of the night, and my mail was stolen (and the apt. manager never notified the residents). I only found out when one of my bills was late, and then a check showed up with a wrong amount. I found out they used alcohol to dissolve the ink, then re-wrote the check. It ended up being a lot of work on my part, and no one was ever caught, as far as I know.
OK, off my soapbox now.
Posted by hotwildflower on September 18, 2007 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Im_willard: I am shocked the check was accepted without an ID to go along with it. Whoever cashed it should be held responsible.
This is terrible that we live in a day and age when we have to fear this stuff.
As for internet bill paying, there are many older people who don't even own a computer and as always, they are often the ones preyed upon.
Posted by LIVEandLEARN on September 18, 2007 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with Im_Willlard, the only people to blame are the ones who are breaking into these mailboxes. We, as people who have to use community mailboxes should be able to trust putting important mail in them and not having it stolen, the letter carriers should be able to trust putting important mail in the boxes and not having it stolen, and the people who put the boxes where they are should have been able to trust that nothing would happen. Unfortunalty everyone but the people who were committing this crime, had no idea it was going to happen. No ones fault but the people who broke into them.
But now everyone knows that we do have to worry about that, and as sad as it is, we are all going to have to take more precausious measures to prevent this from happening.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on September 19, 2007 at 6:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree that alot of elderly people do not even own a computer. Let alone to be able to do bill-pay. And also alot of banks only allow you up to five bill pays a month without a charge. I have no idea how to prevent these thieves. Other then really light up the boxes with street lights so that no one can hide in the dark???? Thats one..
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