Stimulus checks are on the way: Beware of mail thieves
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - With stimulus checks on the way, local law enforcement is urging people to be on the lookout for potential mail thieves. Recently in Williamson County, a man was arrested for stealing mail from 19 homes, while the motive isn’t known they say the allure of the checks could bring out similar thieves.
More than 50 different pieces of mail were taken from 19 different addresses in Williamson County.
“Most of these, if not all of these, are from the eastern county and remember these are rural areas they are going up a county road checking the mailbox seeing if there is anything in it and moving on to the next one,” said Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody.
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With the government stimulus checks on the way, he is urging people to check their mail daily to deter similar criminals from hitting your mailbox. “Checking the mailboxes and emptying it, I think that would be sufficient. Also, neighbors watching after neighbors, taking care of one another, and I think and that was in the case we had the other night where someone saw a suspicious vehicle and wasn’t afraid to call 911,” said Chody.
He said mail theft can lead to a lot of problems for the victims depending on what type of mail they take.
“If it has your check in it, your social security card, or your driver's license. It’s not the amount that matters it’s the value of what’s inside of each envelope depending on the value of that is what the concern probably should be,” said Chody.
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Sheriff Chody is also urging people to be cautious of cyber thieves sending you suspicious emails as these stimulus checks hit. “If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. You never have to pay something to get a check so those are things we need to be concerned about,” said Chody.
With most people at home during this stay at home order, Chody wants people to never be afraid to report something suspicious you see in your neighborhood.
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