Property tax checks, Christmas gifts stolen from mailbox trays in Travis County

Most of the checks were taken out of post office drop boxes and neighborhood cluster boxes, according to investigators.

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas - The number of mailbox trays that arrive at the Travis County Tax Office increase during the holiday season.

But lately a few envelopes, with property tax checks inside, have not arrived. According to County Tax Assessor Collector Bruce Elfant, they were stolen.

"The Tax Office has forwarded nine cases of stolen property tax checks to the sheriff's office, averaging $13,000 for a total of about $117,000. These checks were stolen from the mail, washed and cashed. The victims were unaware that their property tax payments were stolen until they received delinquent property tax bills," said Elfant.

Most of the checks were taken out of post office drop boxes and neighborhood cluster boxes, according to investigators. Along with the nine property tax checks, the Travis County Sheriff's Office is investigation 76 cases of mailbox destruction.

Thieves are breaking in, looking not only for checks, but also Christmas cash and gift cards.

"I think that the best thing that we can do is be our neighbors’ keeper. Right. And if you do see something, call us, report it, and we'll respond to those calls," said Sheriff Sally Hernandez.

Officials with the US Postal Service say if you can’t send money through an online service, you should go to a post office and take your mail inside. If you are determined to use a drop box, there's a timely rule to remember.

"Make sure that you do not deposit it after the final collection time of the day. Every box has the collection time listed on it, and it varies from box to box. So some boxes out on the street, the last pickup time may be 2 or 3 p.m. If it's outside a post office, it may be as late as 8 p.m. But make sure that you know what time that last pickup time is for that box. If that time has passed, then you should consider holding your items for the following day," said Postal Inspector Silvia Torres.

It’s also recommended to get a postal service certificate or tracking number. Those can help a mail theft victim avoid a 7% late fee with the tax office.

"And really to make that a possibility, time is of the essence. This can't be weeks or months later after the fact. So that's why we encourage people before the January deadline to check to make sure that their property tax payment has processed and been received. And you can see it on our website, or you can call us. And if it hasn't, that's when the, you know, alarm bells go up that they should contact us," said Elfant.

The postal service has had some recent cases of mail theft by employees. Extra security measures, like cameras, are being used to address that problem.

Postal Inspector Torres declined to provide specifics regarding those safety measures.