Beware: Thieves Stealing from Mailboxes in McLean, Great Falls Area

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- Popping some birthday cash into a card for a relative? Mailing off a college tuition check? Think twice before placing it in your mailbox.

A McLean-area resident who lives off of Swinks Mill Road in the 22102 ZIP code had outgoing mail stolen out of her curbside mailbox Friday, a Patch reader reported.

The resident believes the mail was taken Friday morning between 9-9:45 a.m.

The resident contacted police on the advice of the U.S. Postal Service; later that day a bank branch in the Springfield/Alexandria area of Fairfax County called to say that someone tried to cash one of the three checks she had placed in her mailbox. The bank caught it because she had put a stop payment on the checks.

Police say these type of thefts are concerning because a resident's bank account and bank routing number can be obtained off personal checks.

In this case Friday, the check was "washed" and rewritten for close to $1,000, according to the resident.

Check washing is the process of erasing details from checks to allow them to be rewritten, usually for criminal purposes such as fraudulent withdrawal from the victim's bank account.

MPO Pat Lucas of the Fairfax County Police Department's McLean District Station, said Monday that residents should "take the opportunity away" from would-be thieves by dropping off mail with checks or cash at the post office.

Stealing mail "is a seasonal thing," he said and summertime, when a lot of residents are on vacation, is a time when would-be thieves might be canvassing an area looking for outgoing or incoming mail. He noted that families should also be sure to stop mail delivery when they are on vacation.

A similar crime, of people stealing mail from mailboxes, took place earlier this year in the Fairfax City area.

PHOTO: Mail box photo via Shutterstock