First there were postal truck break-ins then mail carriers getting robbed. Now, thieves are targeting boxes inside post offices.
One San Jose woman told NBC Bay Area she went to pick up her mail at a post office in the Willow Glen neighborhood and learned thieves had busted into her P.O. box and stolen all her mail.
Laila Gipson said she picks up mail about once a week, but when she opened it up recently, she was shocked at what she didnt find.
"There was no mail, which is odd because I'd expect to find junk mail at least," Gipson said.
Gipson took photos of the damage to the boxes. A clerk told her someone had used a crow bar to get into several P.O. boxes.
"At the Willow Glen post office, there were some P.O. box break-ins. This is an ongoing investigation," postal Inspector Jeff Fitch said.
Fitch added investigators are still determining how many boxes were broken into.
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Gipson said she's even more frustrated because she had already had her mail stolen from an apartment complex mailbox and specifically opened up a P.O box for peace of mind.
"I see the post office as an added layer of security to be more protected because it's on government property. So that's why I got a post office box, and to have this happen is shocking on many layers," she said.
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Now Gipson is worried about what the thieves might do with her personal information.
"I was expecting a bank card, so I reached out to my financial institution. They told me it had not been activated," she said.
While Fitch said P.O box break-ins are not very common, they are happening in the Bay Area. The crime is a federal offense that could lead to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
"This is a very serious offense," he said.
Gipson said the post office clerk gave her a flyer explaining where to report the crime. She says she plans to talk to the postal inspector, her U.S. representative and more to help protect others relying on a post office box.
When asked about security cameras in the post office, Gipson learned there were no cameras facing her box.
