Mail Stolen From 5 Public Mailboxes In Bergen County, Police Say

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Months after a series of envelopes were stolen from a mailbox in the Bergen County town of Glen Rock, federal officials are looking into stolen mail in another town in that county.

The Fort Lee police said in a message on Saturday that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark is looking into possible mail theft. They posted a memo from the agency (below) advising customers who mailed financial documents from public mailboxes on Sept. 20 keep an eye on their credit.

In a separate message, Fort Lee Police Chief Matthew Hintze said that back on Sept. 21, officials discovered five public mailboxes without their front panels in Fort Lee. The mail had been removed, he said.

Any mail sent after 3 p.m. on Sept. 20 may be compromised, he said.

"We urge you to monitor all of your financial accounts and all your bank transactions," Hintze said. "Please look for any suspicious activity. The people that committed this theft are going to try to use your identification to open up fraudulent accounts or conduct fraudulent transactions."

Checks Defaced In Another Town

He has a precedent to go on, since residents of Glen Rock have been victims of fraud over the last eight months after mailing out checks from one public mailbox.

According to police in that town, people who mailed checks from a box in front of the Glen Rock post office have found that the checks were intercepted, defaced, and cashed by someone other than the intended recipient.

The first reports of such activity were made public back in February, but the most recent was on Aug. 3.

• Mail Stolen From Mailboxes In Glen Rock
• More Mail Stolen From Mailbox In Glen Rock, Police Say

Chief Hintze suggested that Fort Lee residents go inside the post offices to mail their envelopes, rather than using the mailboxes on the street.

The Fort Lee mailboxes that were vandalized were:

• 309 Main St.
• 1213 Anderson Ave./Palisade Post Office
• 1475 Bergen Blvd./Plaza West
• 231 Main Street/New Post Office
• Abbott Boulevard/Columbia Avenue

The letter from federal officials is here:

• READ MORE: More Mail Stolen From Mailbox In Glen Rock, Police Say