Three Surrey men are facing charges of mail theft, after allegedly being caught with “a large amount” of stolen mail.
Surrey RCMP said they received a call around 4 a.m. last Wednesday with reports of mail being stolen in the Morgan Creek area.
Officers responded, and found the trio and the stolen mail in a parked minivan near Rosemary Heights Crescent and Rosemary Heights Drive, according to an RCMP media release.
Craig Davies, Jordan Wardstrom and Jamie Timbs were arrested without incident and each face a single charge of mail theft, police said.
Wardstrom is also facing an additional charge of possession of stolen property over $5,000.
Mail theft is usually the start of identity theft which leads to impersonation,
said Cpl. Scotty Schumann in a statement. This in turn results in someone using your personal information to commit additional crimes.
Mounties said mail theft usually spikes over the winter months, and are warning the public to be particularly careful about mail security over the holidays.
The Surrey RCMP and Canada Post are offering the following tips to help keep your mail safe:
- Have your mail held if you are going out of town for a lengthy period of time
- When you change your address, make sure to notify your mailers such as all relevant financial institutions, insurance, etc. Canada Post offers a mail forwarding service and has change of address cards to assist with the process
- Collect your mail daily
- When you move, file a change of address with Canada Post, banks and other companies
- If your mail fails to arrive, contact senders to ensure they have your correct mailing address
- Report suspicious activities around mailboxes immediately to police and Canada Post