Mail Thieves Hitting Tuolumne County
Sonora, CA – Warning watch your mailboxes and package deliveries as there has been a rash of box break-ins and packages stolen in Tuolumne County.
Sheriff’s spokesperson Nicco Sandelin says in the past two weeks the dispatch phones have been ringing with residents reporting their mail stolen or finding letters, many of them opened, and ripped apart packages littering the shoulder of roadways for several blocks. He shares that no specific area is being targeted by the thieves, instead the thefts are happening all over the county.
The sheriff’s office offers these mail theft prevention tips that they say each community member can take to lessen their chances of becoming a victim.
1. Check your mailbox often and do not allow your mail to accumulate in the mailbox.
2. Try to know your mail carrier’s normal delivery days, hours and retrieve your delivered mail as soon as possible.
3. Do not use your mailbox flag for outgoing mail pick-up. Your carrier will know when the mail inside your box is outgoing. Using the flag can attract unnecessary attention.
4. Keep in contact with neighbors and look out for each other.
5. Report any suspicious persons or activity in your neighborhood.
6. Look into other potential security options such as a locking mailbox, alarms, video surveillance or even switching to a PO Box.
Sandelin stresses while these tips are not a full-proof way of preventing mail theft, following them could make the public and neighborhoods less of a target to thieves. He urges reporting any mail thefts to your local carrier and law enforcement immediately.
