Police are investigating after mail was stolen from half a dozen United States Postal Service mailboxes in Fort Lee, New Jersey, over the weekend.

It comes amid recent reports of mail security issues across the Tri-State Area.

Fort Lee Police issue warning for residents who used blue mailboxes

Fort Lee Police say Sunday morning, a resident contacted the authorities after noticing a blue USPS mailbox was unsecured, open and empty.

“They did a little canvassing of some other mailboxes in the area, in the borough, and realized there was probably about a half dozen other mailboxes in the same situation, where the door was open and all the mail was removed,” Fort Lee Police Chief Matthew Hintze said.

Hintze said Fort Lee Police launched a joint investigation with USPS inspectors and discovered six mailboxes were targeted across Fort Lee. The boxes were located at:

• 1580 Lemoine Ave.
• 231 Main St.
• 309 Main St.
• 1213 Anderson Ave.
• 1475 Bergen Blvd.
• Abbott Boulevard/Columbia Avenue

Investigators believe the master key or locks on the mailboxes were somehow compromised. They also believe the thief or thieves were likely looking for personal information to commit fraud.

Police say anyone who dropped mail containing sensitive information in any of the impacted mailboxes after 3 p.m. on Sept. 20 should be on the lookout for suspicious activity.

“Please monitor all your financial accounts, check your bank accounts. If you really want to do due diligence, conduct a credit report, maybe a credit freeze,” Hintze said. “If you see anything suspicious or fraudulent, please come in to the Fort Lee Police Department and make that report.”

The investigation is ongoing.  

Mail-related crime across New York and New Jersey

This is just the latest mail-related crime reported in the Tri-State Area in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, two Long Island business owners said they lost nearly $3,000 after someone apparently fished checks they had mailed out of a mailbox, washed off the ink, and rewrote the checks.

“I went to the post office to file a complaint, and they said this is an everyday occurrence. It’s constantly happening,” business owner Rich Miller said at the time.

They were later reimbursed, but they weren’t the only recent victims of check washing. Another Long Island resident said she lost $20,000 after three checks she wrote were stolen and cashed by a thief.

“What the Postal Police had showed me is that they literally took Wite-Out and they erased the payable to,” Jean Gioglio-Goehring said.

Experts advise paying bills electronically to avoid falling victim to crimes like these.

Police say another way to keep your mail safe is to bring it inside the post office instead of just dropping it one of the blue mailboxes, even if the boxes are right outside the building.

“The only way you’re going to be safe is to take the mail actually into the post office during business hours and then you know your mail is safe. Because if you deposit it in a mailbox after hours, then you’re certainly at risk,” Tenafly resident Neil Taylor said.

Police in Irwin say six children and more than a dozen pets were found living in filth and danger. Investigators say the mom is facing child endangerment and animal cruelty charges after she let her kids fend for themselves in a home filled with trash, no running water and dead animals. KDKA-TV’s Shelley Bortz reports.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island State Police said a Providence man was arrested after police allegedly discovered multiple narcotics and a gun inside two residences on Sept. 23.

47-year-old Joel Garcia was charged with possession with the intent to deliver over 1 kilogram of fentanyl, possession with the intent to deliver over 1 kilogram of cocaine, possession with the intent to deliver one ounce to one kilogram of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to deliver fentanyl, possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, possession with the intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession of a firearm while committing a controlled substance violation, unlawful possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and distribution of a controlled substance in a school zone.

According to RISP, police received court-authorized search warrants for two residences in Providence in connection to a narcotics and firearms investigation.

Inside an apartment on Dresser Street, police allegedly seized 1.7 kilograms of fentanyl, 2.3 kilograms of cocaine, and 147 grams of methamphetamine.

Police also searched Garcia’s residence on Portland Street and allegedly seized one fully loaded pistol.

According to police, Garcia had allegedly used the apartment on Dresser Street to “store, package, and distribute large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.”

Garcia was arrested and charged.

RISP, Providence police, Cranston police, North Providence police, Johnston police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Rhode Island National Guard Counterdrug Program assisted in the investigation.