Broken Arrow Police Investigating Rise In Stolen Mail, Including Checks

Broken Arrow Police said they are seeing a big spike in mail thefts, causing some people to lose a lot of money. Thieves are taking checks out of envelopes and then cashing the money for themselves, detectives said.

Investigators said more than a dozen thefts happened at the Post Office near Kenosha Street and Kilby Drive. The suspects are stealing from an outdoor mailbox, police said.

Detective Brett Burton said there are 15 stolen mail cases that he is working on.

“For me, that’s at least a 50 to 75 percent increase based off what I was working last month,” said Burton.

Investigators said thieves are hitting the outdoor mailbox, where people are dropping personal and cashiers checks after the last pick up. They’ll manipulate those checks and deposit them into untraceable accounts.

You should never mail cash, said United States Postal Service Inspector Paul Ecker. Checks can be tracked, and should be mailed from inside the post office.

“We don’t want the mail sitting in there overnight or for any length of time that might become a desirable target for thieves,” said Eckert.

Investigators said there could be an increase in even more mail theft with the holiday season coming quickly.