EAST HARLEM— Thieves targeting mailboxes in the neighborhood have struck again, stealing more than $1,600 from a victim by altering checks she tried to mail.
A 58-year-old woman reported to police on April 6 that she discovered two bill payments she mailed on Jan. 13 from a street mailbox outside the post office at 167 E. 124 St. were never received by the companies.
The victim mailed a $56.83 check to Time Warner Cable and a $40 check to New York and Company, but later discovered through bank statements that the first check was altered to $1,126.83 and the second to $640, police said.
Both of the checks were cashed for the fraudulent amount.
There have been dozens of incidents of check thefts from mailboxes filed in Harlem's 25th Precinct dating back to August 2016. Detectives have been investigating and working with the U.S. Postal Service Inspection Service to identify the thieves.
Police said thieves use a sticky substance to trap mail in the boxes before fishing it out.
Meanwhile, USPS has retrofitted a number of mailboxes Uptown to thwart criminals who use the method.
Check where thefts have been reported below:
