People in Wausau are being asked to keep a close eye on their mailboxes after police say several residents reported having their mail stolen or opened.
Lieutenant John Phillips says they recommenced staying on top of what's coming into your mailbox so you know if something is missing.
“Postal service also has a great tool called informed delivery that you can actually get an email every single day on what to expect in your mail. So it’d be really easy to understand and know hey this is missing.”
Phillips says the thieves appear to be targeting things like gift cards, checks, and cash that may have been sent as Christmas presents.
“Once they’ve been taken, being able to track that, cancel it or get the money or gift card back to the intended recipient is pretty difficult if not impossible.”
Phillips says checking your mailbox daily or having someone do it for you if you will be away is another preventive step you can take.
“If you are going to be out of town, have a trusted friend, neighbor or relative go and get that, so it doesn’t stack up and there’s a whole bunch of things to potentially go missing at one time.”
Phillips says taking advantage of tracking tools such as the USPS Informed Delivery or package tracking services can help you know if something is missing.
Phillips says they've seen this issue pop up a few different times during the holiday season. Some suspects have been caught but there are no suspects in this latest round of thefts.
