MAIL THEFT IN BUCKHORN
Your Buckhorn HOA just learned today that one of our residents was recently the victim of mail theft from his mail box. Unfortunately, he did not know of the theft until his bank statement arrived indicating an overdrawn account. One check for $58.00 was “washed” by the thieves and changed to $5,800.00. Hopefully, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department and the U. S. Postal Agents can track the thieves down, arrest them and they go to trial.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Please take your outgoing mail to your place of work, to a business that you are going to visit early in the day and put it in their outgoing mail, or even to the post office to insure your important mail leaves Valrico intact.
Also, check your incoming mail in your mailbox as early as you can after it is delivered. Some residents leave their incoming mail in the box for several days before emptying it. This presents a thief’s paradise; a box full of mail with little chance the owner will miss anything.
The U.S. Post Office has a free service called Informed Delivery which allows them to send you a pic of each piece of first class mail that will be delivered to you each day. The email comes early in the day for your convience. Go to usps.com/informeddelivery to sign up for the free service.
A resident in a nearby neighborhood reported last week that a debit card she was to receive in the mail was stolen from her mailbox and $400.00 in charges were made on the card.
Also, be very aware of porch pirates daily operating all over the Valrico area. Mail thieves and porch pirates strike fast. If you see anyone performing these crimes please take a second to get a good description of the person, their clothing and the vehicle they are using and call the Sheriff at 911 immediately and convey everything you observed and then notify your Buckhorn HOA at beha@buckhorn.us.
If possible, get into your car and follow the suspected criminals at a safe distance and tell the 911 dispatcher the location of the thieves. A few years ago a man in Bloomingdale observed mail thieves in the daytime. He covertly followed them while speaking with the 911 dispatcher and when the Deputies arrived they discovered over 700 pieces of mail in the back seat of the thieves’ car.
Respectfully, Your Buckhorn HOA and Neighborhood Watch
BE VIGILENT, BE SUSPICIOUS, BE CURIOUS AND ACT ON YOUR OBSERVATIONS IMMEDIATELY