It may seem like a petty act of vandalism but it's also a serious crime that has people in one Mid-Michigan neighborhood worried that their personal information may have been stolen.
Residents in one Jackson County neighborhood were surprised to wake up Thursday morning to find their mail scattered about the street.
It happened along Lowell Street in the City of Jackson overnight.
Leanne Jones took her dogs outside Thursday morning and as she made her way down the driveway she was a little taken back.
“I saw some envelopes and mail on the street and started picking them up and realized it was the neighbors,” said Jones. “As I went to go take it back, I saw all three of their (neighbors) boxes open.”
It didn't take long before Jones realized that someone did this on purpose and could've been looking for something more.
“It was the Secretary of State and something else from the City of Jackson so they had personal information in there and they were opened,” said Jones. “There was also mail ripped up on the ground.”
The car across the street neighbors say was broken into overnight as well.
Jones is keeping both eyes open.
“Grow up and stop taking other people’s items and vandalizing,” said Jones. “You know that's a crime to get into someone’s mailbox.”
Getting caught tampering with a mailbox could set you back $250,000 or three years in prison for each act.
Lowell Street is a pleasant one and to keep it that way, neighbors just simply what this to stop.
“We'll all be watching, all the neighbors around here know now,” said Jones. “Hopefully they'll also be more vigilant with their mailbox and hopefully it won't happen again.”
If you ever find your mailbox tampered with, report it to the postal service right away.
You can do so online by clicking here or calling (877) 876-2455 (press 5).
You can also obtain Label 33 from the Postal Inspection Service and affix it to your mailbox. The sticker warns that willful damage to mailboxes and theft of mail are crimes.
Jones says she's really thinking about having cameras installed on the house.
The United States Postal Service has some advice to protect yourself from mail thieves.
First try to pick up your mail right after it gets delivered and never leave it in your mailbox overnight.
If you're going out of town have a neighbor pick up your mail, or contact the postal service to put it on hold.
If you don't get a check or another piece of valuable mail you're expecting, call police or the postal service immediately.
Never send cash through the mail and notify the post office if you change your address.
