Carl Mercer had already heard about the local uptick in mail-fishing before he went to mail his insurance bill earlier this month. In fact, he even had a friend who had a check stolen from a mailbox in Cranston and cashed for multiple times its original value.

“I figured the mailbox near the Beacon would be safe,” he said, adding that he lives in the neighborhood behind the newspaper’s main office. “Then I got a notice from my insurance company saying that the payment had never been received. I was able to stop the check before it could be cashed, fortunately.”

Mail theft has been on the rise in the region since the pandemic, with confirmed incidents having occurred at post boxes on Spring Green Road and Post Road, as well as those in front of the United States Post Office branch on Strawberry Field Road. The practice of “fishing” for mail can include a variety of techniques, ranging from putting an adhesive substance at the end of a rope lowered into a mailbox to discretely inserting a bag within the mailbox to collect deposited letters.

According to USPS Strategic Communications Specialist Stephen Doherty, the postal service has working since 2019 to replace traditional mailboxes with slotted boxes which are more resistant to fishing attempts.

“With thousands of these blue collection boxes nationwide, the process of replacing them is ongoing,” he said. “There is no strict timeline for completion but, eventually, all collection boxes will be of this type.”

The new boxes were introduced through the federal agency’s Aviation Security Program; in addition to deterring potential thieves, the boxes also enforce weight and size requirements for letters and packages.

Postal Inspector Danielle Schrage encourages any victims of mail-fishing to contact the United States Postal Inspection Service at 877-867-2455 or visit uspis.gov. At the outset of the mail theft spate, the Warwick Police Department also issued a statement requesting that anyone who witnesses suspicious activity near a local mailbox contact them with a description of the incident and persons involved. Several arrests have been made for the crime throughout Rhode Island over the course of the past two years.

Schrage’s suggestions for minimizing the risk of having your own mail stolen include keeping an eye on your home mailbox: these are even easier to access than USPS boxes, and a raised flag can be a signal to thieves that there is unattended mail within. Avoid depositing letters after the posted last collection, so they will not be sitting within the box overnight, and always check boxes for any signs of tampering before inserting mail.

When sending money in the mail, never use cash; Schrage said that those paying bills can request secure checks from their bank which are more difficult for thieves to alter.

As for Mercer, he plans to play it safe for the time being.

“I’ve seen them putting out those new mailboxes, but for now, I’m going to just stick with dropping it off in person down in Apponaug,” he said.