A bold daytime mail theft in the Rollingwood area near San Pablo was caught on camera, showing a woman prying open the back of a U.S. Postal Service truck and ferrying stolen mail to a waiting SUV. Surveillance video captures her working a bright yellow crowbar into the truck’s rear roll-up door, then hustling armfuls of mail to a Lincoln Nautilus before driving off. Postal inspectors warn that checks, credit cards and other personal data swiped from trucks and mailboxes can quickly be flipped into identity fraud.
Video captures the theft
The surveillance clip shows an SUV pulling up alongside a parked postal vehicle while the mail carrier was on route, around 10 AM, according to KTVU. When the carrier came back, the truck’s rear roll-up door was damaged and mail was missing, the outlet reports. KTVU also connects the theft to a separate mailbox-tampering incident at a Benvenue Avenue apartment building in Berkeley, where residents reported stolen credit cards and other items.
Postal inspectors are investigating
U.S. Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet told KTVU that investigators believe there may be others, adding that break-ins of postal trucks are probably something between a daily and a weekly occurrence across the Bay Area. He said thieves typically comb through letters and parcels for checks, credit cards and anything that can be quickly monetized. Authorities are asking anyone with home security or doorbell footage from the area to come forward.
Not an isolated problem in the East Bay
Similar thefts have been troubling the East Bay for years. Berkeley Scanner has documented multiple mail truck and mailbox break-ins and noted that postal inspectors offer rewards for useful tips. The San Francisco Chronicle has reported cases where thieves stole postal keys from a North Oakland post office and then used them to access residents’ mail. Both outlets echo inspectors’ warnings that stolen keys and pilfered letters often feed into downstream financial fraud.
How to report and protect your mail
The United States Postal Inspection Service advises victims to file a report online and to call 1-877-876-2455; the agency’s reporting page explains how to submit evidence and request follow-up from investigators (United States Postal Inspection Service). Inspectors recommend signing up for Informed Delivery, using locking mailboxes where practical, placing holds when you are away and keeping a close eye on bank and credit card accounts for unauthorized charges. Rewards may be offered for tips that lead to arrests or convictions.
Postal inspectors and local police are still investigating the San Pablo-area truck break-in and the related mailbox thefts. They say that even short, time-stamped video clips or doorbell footage can help them connect cases and identify suspects.
