Mail Theft Puts Frisco Neighborhood On Alert
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FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Frisco are asking for the public's help to find someone who is taking mail from homes in one neighborhood. Residents have reported missing birthday cards and graduation cards, and the community is now trying to do something about it.
According to people in the neighborhood, this mail theft has been going on for a couple of weeks. A handful of residents began to suspect that something was wrong when they started receiving credit cards without applying for them. Other people simply stopped getting mail altogether.
"Got a fraud alert on both my social security number and my husband's to try to stop it from there," stated neighbor Kimberly Hampton. "Maybe even call my credit cards and switch to a P.O. Box instead of regular mail."
Residents called this case an invasion of privacy. But also, many of those cards had money in them, gifts for people celebrating special occasions. Some neighbors are now considering putting locks on their mailboxes in an attempt to thwart the mail thief from striking again.
One man actually caught the crime on video. Tim Hoffman said that he stopped getting mail, and several graduation cards for his son never showed up. "At the time, I didn't think about it. All I thought was my son's not getting his graduation cards as he deserves, and that made me very, very angry," the father said.
But after four days without mail, Hoffman decided to solve the mystery. He hid behind the bushes with his cell phone and shot video of a guy walking up to the mailbox and taking out the mail. Hoffman confronted that man, but the suspect drove away. A photograph of that suspect was later posted by authorities on Twitter.
Police are now investigating this case. "I got a case number from the Frisco PD. They'll do an investigation, let the postmaster know what's going on," Hoffman said. It is not known how much mail and money has been stolen out of the neighborhood's mailboxes.
"There's a good unofficial neighborhood watch," said resident Dave Smeal, "just watch out for one another and report it."
