A reader writes:
I live on the 4100 block of Whitman Ave. N. Mine and my neighbor’s mailboxes were broken into and our mail stolen last night (Saturday, February 2) before 8pm. I’m pretty sure they took my W-2 and I know they got a new debit card I was expecting. The burglar tried using the debit card but thankfully could not since it hadn’t been activated.
I spoke to the police and they told me to call 911 if I ever see someone who seems suspicious and they can send someone over to talk to them. In particular I noticed someone on a bike last week, who looked like he was scoping out the area. I drove around the block a couple of times and made eye contact until he took off, but I now know that even something seemingly minor might deserve a call to the police.
I hope this helps our neighbors!
last week, my mailbox was open when i came home from work (with no mail inside) – i wonder if this might be related?
this is why I have a post office box. wallingford has a post office. We cant control what happens in the day time when few people are around.
I’ve noticed a few suspicious people around in the last month too. I live in the 4000 block of Whitman and as I was leaving our apartment, someone was peering in the front windows. When they could see me coming down the stairs they ran away and peered back from the end of the alley. Very creepy!
Really? Because whenever I have called SPD regarding suspicious activity, they tell me there is nothing they can do.
It would be helpful, if you have reported this to SPD, to have a report number that people can refer back to when calling 911. That way, they have a greater cause to respond and can follow the trend.
Call your North Seattle Community police team http://www.seattle.gov/police/precincts/north/CPT.htm
I live on ground floor and last week some one knocked on my door with a friendly rat at tat and wouldnt identify self when I asked who it was.. it was dark out and I didnt open my apartment door which is on a parking lot.
I never do with no response or if I dont know them.
to the reader who wrote in to Margaret : when you say mailboxes were “broken into”, do you mean you had mail boxes that were locked and were tampered with? When you spoke to the police was this on the phone or in person? the details would be helpful to me.
I now pay bills at bolted down mailboxes but am concerned that bills that come to our house mailbox often have charge card numbers on them. I am wondering if having a locked mailbox is helpful.
Or maybe a mail slot in your door? I’m sorry about the mail theft!
Mail slot for incoming mail, not for use for outgoing mail.
A mail slot in door works for both, but for postal carriers there are legal parameters re: height. We have a door slot for incoming / outgoing. Incoming mail can’t be stolen; outgoing could, but it would require aggressive porch visibility, but desperation sometimes takes that length. Best protection is neighbor communication — next door, across the street, owners, renters. Maybe pay attention, too, to leafleters — guessing an easy inroad to mail robbery or to check out who’s home when, in a chunk of houses. I saw what looked like awkward leafletters Saturday: 2 people going door to door in upper Wallingford (2 people raises my antennae); just didn’t feel right about their body movements, they weren’t talking, didn’t look up when I passed. So I noted it visually in case anything turned up in the neighborhood. I’ll give descriptions if someone else thinks it’d be helpful. Don’t want to be over-cautious about people who just need work… but it does seem like a good cover for mail theft.
Abigail–your bills should have only the last four digits of your credit card number. if they show the whole number, talk you the card company or whoever is sending the bill. Using only the last four is standard security.
I live on the 4000 block of Whitman and know the reader whose mail got stolen.
I am pretty sure their mailboxes have a lock. The reader leaves in an apartment building so I don’t think a mail slot would work.
Here’s the tweet about this crime. I don’t know if a call # is the same as a report number, but it is some identifying information: https://twitter.com/SeattlePDJ3/status/297936209156648961
I had problems with theft this holiday season in the 1900 block of 46th St. The post office told me that “Didn’t I watch the news? And didn’t I know that mail was getting stolen?”
Of course, I’ve noticed that the postperson likes to leave my mailbox opened to advertise that I got mail. So I’m sure that’s extra helpful for thieves looking for stolen mail. I’ve resorted to sending all packages to my work instead of my home.
There’s a website to help neighborhood residents communicate quickly and respond to whatever is happening. It’s free, but right now there are only a handful of Wallingfordians signed up. homeelephant.com