SHICKSHINNY, Pa. — Outside the Shickshinny Post Office on North Canal Street is a patch of dirt where a blue post office collection box sat until recently.
"There have been reports of other boxes that have been broken into — some outside of post offices, some in neighborhoods," said U.S. Postal Inspector George Clark.
A postal inspector and law enforcement are now investigating.
While many details could not be shared, the postal inspector says there are ways to keep your mail more secure since break-ins typically happen at night.
"To not mail anything after the last collection time, to either wait until the next day or to find an alternative mailing location where that piece of mail isn't sitting for 8 to 12 hours in a collection box that isn't emptied until the following day," said Clark.
Lisa Stuart of Shickshinny sells cleaning products from her home. She tells Newswatch 16 that her business has been hurt by the thefts.
"I had just mailed a bunch of samples, and literally within the last few days, I've had people message me saying, 'Lisa, I haven't gotten your sample. Did you happen to mail it out?' Because they know I'm usually pretty prompt about getting these mailed out, and unfortunately, all of that mail is gone," said Stuart.
Stuart says the thefts are making her and her neighbors reconsider how they get their mail to where it needs to go.
"My daughter just went in; we are completely changing our whole way that we function with all of our mail. We are going right in, so it is going into the hands of our local postal clerks," said Stuart.
Investigators stress that thieves are targeting the collection boxes in search of cash and checks.
If you believe your mail has been stolen, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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