2022-11-28: Police Remind of Increase in Thefts from Mailboxes
The Trumbull police are currently investigating numerous thefts from mailboxes that have occurred over the past several weeks where mail was stolen from many residential neighborhoods during the day. Police are seeking to identify a suspect vehicle that was spotted today taking mail from a residential mailbox in Trumbull near the Monroe and Shelton town lines. A small white vehicle was observed stopping at mailboxes where the passenger reached out, opened the mailbox and stole the contents before leaving the area.

Many of these crimes are committed by thieves who approach a mailbox by vehicle, steal the contents, and then quickly drive away. The Trumbull Police Department would like to remind the public of an increase in these types of crimes which have recently become an increasing problem in many areas of Trumbull, and are also occurring in many areas throughout the state.

Mail is being stolen from residential mailboxes, and also from United States Postal Service (USPS) collection boxes that are located in various residential and business areas. Thieves look for residential mailbox that have their outgoing mail flags in the upright position, alerting mail to be collected, and then thieves steal the contents from within. Thieves are also targeting USPS collection boxes, by gaining access into these bigger mailboxes to steal larger amounts of mail in a shorter amount of time. Thieves will then sort through the stolen mail to recover checks and other valuables. When checks are stolen, thieves will alter and fraudulently cash the stolen checks. Thieves may even use information from the stolen checks to gain access into the victim’s bank account.

Below are a few tips to ensure that your mail arrives safely at its destination, and to help protect yourself from falling victim to mail theft and fraud:
- Promptly pickup mail - Try not to leave letters and packages in your mailbox or at your door for any length of time.
- Deposit mail close to pick-up time - Deposit your outgoing mail into USPS mail collection boxes before the last collection or inside of your local Post Office.
- Inquire about overdue mail - If you do not receive a check, credit card, or other valuable mail that you are expecting, contact the sender as soon as possible and inquire about it.
- Do not send cash - Be careful about what you send. Do not risk sending cash in the mail.
- Arrange for prompt pickup - If you cannot be home to receive a package, make other arrangements to obtain your items.
- Request a signature confirmation - When mailing something important/valuable, consider requesting a signature in order to confirm receipt by the intended party.

Always remember, if you observe suspicious activity in your neighborhood or around mail collection boxes DO NOT confront of follow the suspects, stay out of harm’s way, be a good witness and call the police right away. To contact the Trumbull Police Department please call 203-261-3665, or dial 911 for all emergencies. To contact the United States Postal Inspection Service please call 877-876-2455.