If you don’t check your mail, someone more unsavoury may end up doing it for you.
West Vancouver police arrested two people Monday night, now facing charges of mail theft.
Just before midnight, officers on patrol happened by a vehicle stopped on the 1400 block of Chippendale Road and saw what appeared to be people loading items into the back.
When they went in for a closer look, they found a hammer, file, pry bar and bolt cutters in the vehicle as well as a number of pieces of mail from two homes on Chippendale Road and another on Crestline Road. They also seized some suspected drug paraphernalia, according to Const. Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver police spokesman.
Police took 34-year-old Surrey man Said Pacha and 31-year-old North Vancouver woman Danielle Sorensen into custody.
They appeared in North Vancouver provincial court on Tuesday charged with mail theft, possession of stolen property under $5,000, possession of break-in tools and dealing with someone else’s identity documents.
West Vancouver police have responded to 14 reports of mail and identity theft since the start of December.
Most often, mail thieves are looking for cheques or anything of value but the greatest risk is having your personal details compromised, Palmer said.
“Mail theft can lead to identity theft,” he said. “Generally, with tax preparation time, there’s definitely going to be documents that could yield a lot of personal information about you. That’s in addition to the regular mail,” Palmer said.
Residents should be diligent about collecting their mail, Palmer said, including asking a friend to collect it for them if going away for an extended period.
