Info-theft attempt, or coincidence? Mail ‘snooping’; vanishing bins

| Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

Two areas of West Seattle, two notes from WSB’ers, and two concerns about possible info theft – read on:

From Laura:

I just wanted to pass this information along in case other people have experienced something similar. I live in the 6500 block of Beach Drive [map] and (Monday) when I got the mail it was just one single piece from our credit card company, which had been opened with something sharp because it was a perfect cut on the side of the envelope. This happened one other time a few months ago and I thought nothing of it. Now, that I see this again, I’m a bit concerned. Also there was no other mail besides this one statement which is very unusual, especially for a Monday, and makes me wonder if other mail has been taken. Better to be safe than sorry so I’m making calls now to switch all of our statements to paperless billing. Will also look into a mailbox with a slot and a key because our mailbox is located down the end of a steep driveway which anyone could easily peek into while walking by. I hope this hasn’t happened to anyone else.

From Wesley:

I’m not sure if this is happening to other people in the area or just an isolated incident, but for the last three Mondays my garbage can or recycle bin has been stolen. We have an alley behind us where our cans are, and I know that the wind blows them around from time to time and they land in someone else’s driveway. But this time, they are nowhere to be found. And they are missing every Monday before the garbage trucks come. Could be a prank or a misunderstanding. At worst, it could be thieves trying to steal information from me. We have always shred everything anyway. We notified Waste Disposal each time, and this time we are going to file a police report. We live in the area of Charleston and 39th [map]. So, just wanted to let people know and see if this is happening to anyone else.

Mike June 22, 2010 (4:05 pm)

We had no mail in our mailbox on Saturday, it was a bit odd…

dandelion June 22, 2010 (6:03 pm)

I live in the 5000 block of 48th Ave SW and we also had no mail for two days, which I thought was very odd. This happened about a month ago – the third day we went to Home Depot and bought a locking mail box. We have had mail every day since then. Our mail lady saw us outside one day and said she liked our new mailbox and that it was a really good idea and much safer than our old one. I work in the legal field and a lot of people prosecuted for identify theft are caught with stolen mail in their cars and homes.

JH June 22, 2010 (8:52 pm)

Yes, everyone should have a locking mailbox! Seattle has a high rate of mail theft.

Bunnyfer June 23, 2010 (3:41 am)

Our cans were taken once also – might have been WSM, since they were old, but with other disappearances it’s worth noting (7000 block of Beach Dr SW)

Nicole June 23, 2010 (10:00 pm)

It completely slipped my mind until I saw this, but there have been about six occasions over the past 3 months where my roommate or I have received opened mail. I live in an apartment in Highland Park, with locked mailboxes, so it seems pretty suspicious. Most of the things that have been open weren’t of any importance, but they looked like they could have been from the envelopes.

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