Bryan Police investigating multiple mail thefts from main post office mailbox

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Bryan Police are investigating multiple cases of theft from the blue mailbox outside the main post office on William Joel Bryan Parkway.

The drop-off drive-thru is a busy spot at the Post Office in Bryan. Police say someone has been stealing mail from the secure box over recent months.

“We wrote our check to the IRS, considerable amount of money and had our social security number on it and everything, put it in the mail,” said Mike Noack, a Bryan resident. He had a tax check stolen from the Post Office drive-thru mailbox back in May.

“What the bank said was they washed the check, they took all of our information off and completely re-wrote the check, deposited it in somebody’s name and they got the money,” he said.

Noack reached out to KBTX after learning multiple people have had mail stolen from the main post office mailbox in recent months.

“Bryan Police Department, they said that they had at least 13 cases of this happening and that they had some down in College Station,” Noack said.

Bryan Police wouldn’t share how the thieves are accessing the mailbox but they do not believe postal workers are involved.

“We recently had a rash of forgeries where checks were forged and all of the victims had mailed checks through the mail, primarily through the post office on W.J.B. [William J. Bryan Parkway] here in Bryan,” said Officer Chris Gray with the Bryan Police Department.

Police say victims should contact the police department, file a fraud report as well as notify the Postal Inspector.

“Right now we’re still investigating a lot of these crimes so, and we are looking at different angles. It could be a large group. Right now it is actually still an active investigation,” added Gray.

“We kind of felt like the bank let us down. The post office let us down and the IRS let us down for making me put my social security number on the check,” said Noack.

He is making adjustments with how he sends his mail.

“I would say at the very least if you’re going to send something through the mail, some money through the mail walk it inside... It does make you feel violated,” said Noack.

Noack’s bank did refund the money from that fraud.

College Station Police tell us they’ve received about a dozen fraud reports this year involving financial instruments, checks, and things like gift cards. They are still working to figure out how that mail was intercepted and where.

We reached out to the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office for a response on this crime and how they are securing the mail. They sent us this statement:

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is aware of mail theft reports in Bryan and has an active investigation under way. The protection of the mail is one of the primary focuses of the USPIS and Postal Inspectors take every report of mail theft seriously. Inspectors are using various research tools and analytic techniques to investigate these crimes and are implementing several proactive measures to combat mail theft. To protect the integrity of this case, the USPIS cannot provide additional details regarding the measures being used in this active investigation.

Every day, the US Postal Service safely delivers mail to more than 150 million addresses; mail that includes checks, money orders, credit cards and merchandise. While the U.S. Mail remains one of the most secure means to transmit such items, unfortunately, these items are also attractive to thieves.

There are steps, however, that customers can take to maintain the safety of their mail.

Don’t let incoming mail sit in your mailbox. Postal Inspectors recommend checking your mailbox every day and removing your mail as promptly as possible. Customers can place their outgoing mail into the mail slot inside the lobby of their local post office. They can also place it into an official blue USPS collection box BEFORE the last collection time of the day, which is displayed on the box. The longer mail sits in any mailbox, the more susceptible it is to theft.

Postal Inspectors rely on reports by customers to identify any items taken from the mail. If you are a victim of mail theft, you should report it to your local police AND to the Postal Inspection Service by calling our hotline at 877-876-2455 or visiting our website at www.uspis.gov/report. If you are a witness to mail theft or have knowledge of mail theft related activity, Postal Inspectors ask that you provide your tips by calling our hotline or visiting our website.

Mail theft is a crime punishable by up to five years prison and substantial fines.

In response to your question whether the individuals in the USDOJ press release were involved in mail theft from Bryan, at this time it is unknown if there is any connection between those suspects and mail theft reports in Bryan.

We have more details on a recent Houston area mail theft investigation here.

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