AnonymousSource: Santa Barbara Police Department
The Santa Barbara Police Department would like to remind the Santa Barbara Community of the impacts of mail theft and what you can do to protect yourself against it. Thieves look for “crimes of opportunity” to steal your mail. Mail theft can lead to more serious crimes of identity theft and fraud. Identity theft and fraud can be detrimental to your livelihood.
When sending mail, drop letters containing checks or personal information directly in USPS postal boxes, personally hand them to mail carriers, or deliver them by hand to your closest Postal Office.
Criminals look for unlocked or overflowing mailboxes to target. Please remember to clear out your mail as soon as possible. You could also purchase a locking mailbox that can be accessible to postal carriers. If you are out of town, have a family member or friend retrieve your mail. You can also contact the US Postal Service and place a “hold mail request” for your address if you are not able to have someone else retrieve your mail. https://www.usps.com/manage/hold-mail.htm
Please remain vigilant and call the Santa Barbara Police Department if you observe a suspicious subject or suspicious activity on or around your or your neighbor’s property. (9-1-1 or 805-882-8922)
Officers and Detectives are working diligently on solving these crimes when leads exist. Many times, cases of mail theft lead to more complex cases of fraud and identity theft that take extended periods of time to investigate.
If you are the victim of mail theft, identity theft, or fraud please file a report with the Santa Barbara Police Department or your local law enforcement agency. https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/police/online/report_crime/default.asp
How ironic, I saw some guy on the Mesa going thru mailbox’s and I called the SBPD and they told me to call the post office and that they couldn’t do anything – I couldn’t believe it
After the fiasco of last year, I changed all my preferences to receiving notices through email instead of paper bills. So I rarely get anything important in the actual mail now. I even got my IRS refund electronically this year for the 1st time.
Ironically, the other day when I mailed my passport application, the clerk highly recommended that I pay 5x more for priority mail with tracking to make sure it got to Texas okay. I guess the workers also lack confidence in the service they provide?