Identity Thieves Target Mailboxes
Hoping to avert future cases of identity theft, authorities have issued a warning to Thousand Oaks residents to stop placing outgoing mail in their curbside mailboxes.
Last week, authorities handled six cases of theft from mailboxes on and around Gainsborough Road, said Ventura County Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Larry Logan.
Authorities believe the thief or thieves are stealing the mail to obtain personal information, such as credit card account numbers and Social Security numbers.
Unlike in past years when authorities received fewer than a dozen complaints of identity theft a month, Logan said cases now number closer 40 a month.
Logan advises residents to take mail to a post office and collect incoming mail as soon as it arrives.
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