EAST HARLEM — Thieves snatching envelopes from mailboxes in the neighborhood have claimed yet another victim, who had two money orders totaling nearly $1,300 stolen, altered and cashed, police said.
The 39-year-old woman told police she dropped the two money orders separately between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7, 2016 — one for $1,000 and another for $271.76 — in a street mailbox located at East 118th Street and Pleasant Avenue, the NYPD said.
She reported the crime to police on March 2, after she discovered that the addressee did not receive the money orders, police said.
The victim told police she received copies of the cashed money orders and did not recognize the altered name or address listed on them.
A string of check thefts have plagued local mailboxes, where police believe thieves "fish" mail out of the postboxes using a sticky substance.
Last month, a 51-year-old man had nearly $1,500 in rent money swiped from a mailbox at 136th Street and Broadway, police said.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which has been working with local NYPD precincts Uptown, is planning to install a host of tamper-free mailboxes to prevent future fishing scams, DNAinfo New York reported.
Check out the map below to see where thefts have been reported:
