How safe is your mail? Albany mail thefts on the rise

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Mailboxes are being raided, mail carriers are being robbed and collection boxes are being broken into. Mail thefts are on the rise. It’s gotten so bad, that the Better Business Bureau is urging people to avoid mailing checks altogether.

The issue is no different in South Georgia.

“I come up and I just drop the mail in and just drove off never thinking that it was going to be taken in the way that it was taken — stolen,” said Robert Gervin, a mail theft victim.

Gervin said he’ll never use a mail dropbox again. In July 2023, he dropped off a check for over $1,000 to pay his mortgage. In August, $25,000 disappeared from his bank account.

“The uncertainty, you know, you’ve got bills, you’ve got to live. For someone to take your money, put you in a deficit, you don’t know what to think,” he said.

Despite that, Gervin acted fast and put a hold on his credit and bank accounts. Within 24 hours, he was able to get all of his money back. But the thieves have not yet been identified.

“Money can be replaced, but if you get your credit damaged, it’s hard to get it repaired,” Gervin said.

That’s something tons of other victims have experienced across the country. The United States Postal Inspection Services reported a dramatic rise in mail thefts in 2022, with over 1,124 mail theft cases initiated, 1,258 arrests made and over 1,188 convictions coming out of those arrests. The alarming rise in mail theft cases is also growing in South Georgia.

“There have been multiple dozens of cases if not hundreds,” said Chris Allen, a Lee County Sheriff investigator.

He added that has resulted in well into hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from people. The amount of mail thefts has called for several agencies, including the FBI, to help combat the issue. So, how safe is your mail really?

“Unfortunately, this is not the 1980s ′s. And just because you put something in your mailbox or blue mailbox, it’s no longer secure,” Allen said.

Allen added the answer to the issue of mail thefts lies within the mail service. Until then, he said more people need to stay vigilant.

“Until proper measures are taken to secure the boxes or securing your items whenever they enter the posts chain, it is recommended that if you do send anything of value specific to checks or anything that you want to make sure it reaches its destination, get certified mail, get a tracking number, hand it to the guy behind the counter so you can verify that it goes into the postal service or any other courier system that you use,” Allen said.

But Gervin said this issue will continue to grow for innocent people like him.

“People break the law every day, so I think what we’re going through today is going to be continuing,” Gervin said.

WALB News 10′s Investigative Reporter Lenah Allen tried to find out what the U.S. Postal Service is doing to protect mail in South Georgia. She found that the inspection services are in Atlanta. No one in South Georgia won’t talk about it. She made multiple calls and sent several emails to the Atlanta office but so far no one has answered.

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