Maketū residents concerned about mail being tampered with

Maketu residents Juliette Brawn and Pete Sanders are concerned about mail being taken.

A Maketū resident is warning others about mail going missing or turning up opened in other people's mail boxes.

Juliette Brawn last week posted on social media that "mail thieves are up to their tricks again, taking mail from one box, opening it, then putting it back in someone else's box if they are not interested in the contents".

Last week Juliette's neighbour found an opened letter addressed to Juliette in her neighbour's mail box.

It's not the first time it has happened, although it is some months since the last occasion.

"It's really bizarre — they open it and re-post it."

She says she has heard of similar things happening in Rangiuru Rd and a reply to her social media post suggested it had also happened in Paengaroa.

Neighbour Pete Sanders says something similar thing was happening around six months ago, but it suddenly stopped.

He first realised when the postie came to his door saying she had found mail addressed to
Pete in someone else's mail box that she remembered putting in his mail box previously.

"They are obviously looking for money or gift cards — that sort of thing," he says.
Juliette says as well as warning people to be vigilant, she hopes people who do find mail
that isn't theirs to either drop it into the correct mail box or hand it to the postie.

A New Zealand Post spokesperson says New Zealand Post is always concerned to hear any reports of mail theft after delivery.

"While we have not had any reports of this happening in Maketū or Paengaroa, this may be due to residents talking directly to police. If someone has had their mail stolen we recommend they report it to us and also to the police."

New Zealand Post also encourages people to take steps to protect against theft after delivery, including clearing their mail regularly and installing a lock on their letterbox.

"If people are going away they should consider having their mail redirected, or setting up a hold on their mail. More information can be found on our website.

"We encourage customers to contact us via our website as soon as possible if they do not receive a parcel they are expecting. For security and convenience, we have a range of deliver options available for our customers, including the ability to have parcels directed to a one of our nationwide parcel collect locations. You can also give us the authority to leave your parcel somewhere safe if you're not home."

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