‘Stop using the blue boxes;’ Another area police department issues warning of increased mail theft

BEAVERCREEK — Another area police department is warning people to stop using outdoor U.S. Post Office boxes amid an increase in thefts from the boxes.

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Beavercreek police issued the public notice Tuesday after officers said they received numerous reports of mail theft involving the outdoor boxes.

“If you are paying bills by mail and have utilized the blue boxes in the past, we encourage you to begin delivering your outgoing mail to the drop off stations inside the post office,” a department spokesperson said in a media release.

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Police have found the thieves are stealing checks from the stolen mail and changing the amount on the check and the payee information, the spokesperson said.

“This is an ongoing problem and several people in various jurisdictions have been arrested. There appears to be a large group of people involved in this operation, including some from out of state,” the spokesperson said.

Beavercreek is the latest in the area to report the problem, with multiple ongoing investigations reported in other parts of the area including Kettering and Washington Twp.

Last month, Kettering police reported hundreds of checks were stolen, and later recovered after mail boxes were broken into at the Stroop Road post office location.

Five people were arrested in the December investigation in Kettering, however the names and hometowns of those arrested were not provided.

Previously, the News Center 7 I-Team reported mail carriers were being targeted by thieves who would steal arrow keys, which are used to open virtually every mail box.

Beavercreek police did not indicate if a stolen arrow key was suspected in their increase of mail box thefts.

Additional details were not available. We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.

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