HOUSTON, Texas — Stimulus checks have been coming through the mail for several days now. The first round was sent out last week.
But this has created concern there may be an increase in one crime in particular – mail thefts.
It was just after noon when Sunnie Frazier got an alert from her Ring camera that her mail was being delivered. But imagine her surprise when her next alert showed her mailman wasn’t the only one outside her home.
“A few minutes later, there was a lady that pulled into my driveway, went to my mailbox, got the mail that my postman just put in my mailbox and took it out," Frazier said.
Only seven minutes after her mail man drove off, the video shows a woman drove up. Her hands were empty walking up to the home. She spent almost 20 seconds in front of it, but when she’s walking back, her hands were holding something. Frazier said she was holding Frazier's mail.
So she reported it to the Postal Inspection Service.
“She alerted me that a lot of these cases were on the uptick, those were her actual words that these are up-ticking across the country now, because people are looking to get the stimulus checks that the U.S. Government is sending out," Frazier said.
While maybe it’s happening in other parts of the country, Postal Inspector Julie Nicholson-Morgan says they aren’t seeing evidence of mail thefts increasing in the Houston area.
But any time checks are going out, she said, it is a concern. Nicholson-Morgan said mail carriers are always aware and know what to do to keep themselves safe.
And there are things you can do if you’re expecting a check in the mail to keep it safe.
- Know when your mail is being delivered and try to grab it as soon as possible.
- If you’re heading out of town, put your mail on hold so it’s not stacking up.
- Maybe sign up for the service called informed delivery. It allows you to see images of your mail before it arrives so you know what’s missing if something does get stolen.
Nicholson-Morgan says if your mail is stolen, they ask you to report it as soon as possible. Because if there is an increase in mail thefts here, they’ll only know about it by people reporting.
“Be vigilant, watch your mailbox, and hopefully, I don’t know if you have a camera, but keep your camera rolling so hopefully we can catch these types of people that are taking advantage of us in the community," Frazier said.
To find out more about the informed delivery, click here.
To report your mail being stolen, click here.
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