By ALISON BROWN in Rotorua
The cheque is in the mail - or at least it was.
Mail thieves have targeted eight suburban postal boxes around Rotorua, prompting a warning for people who had sent cheques after 12pm on Sunday to cancel the cheques and notify their intended
recipients.
The New Zealand Post boxes were broken into overnight on Sunday and were outside or near:
* the Happy Angler Store at Mourea
* corner of Chapman Pl/Kawaha Point Rd
* Kawaha Point Dairy
* corner of Thomas Cr/Clayton Rd
* Selwyn Heights Shopping Centre
* Te Ngae Shopping Centre
* Springfield Shopping Centre
* Rosedale Dairy, corner of Basley/Te Ngae Rds
Rotorua Mail Centre manager Trish Adler said New Zealand Post took mail security very seriously and the thefts were a major concern.
"New Zealand Post is shocked by the number of thefts and wants the public to help police catch the offenders."
She urged anyone who saw anything suspicious in the areas at the time of the thefts to contact police.
Inspector Steve Bullock of the Rotorua police said it was unusual for thieves to steal from suburban post boxes, as most thieves targeted private mail boxes in rural areas.
In those cases, fraudsters stole cheques and altered them chemically before trying to cash them.
"With this, they probably grabbed everything and sifted through them to see what they could find."
New Zealand Post spokesman Ian Long said Christmas was too far away for people to be sending gifts in the mail, and as far as he was aware, the thefts were isolated to Rotorua.
Customers concerned about any mail they posted can call New Zealand Post on 0800 501 501.
