A new twist on stealing mail has moved into Southwest Virginia.
It's a crime so unexpected. It's a crime that happens so quickly.
In fact, Rick Ramey never would've believed people can and do steal mail right out of those big blue industrial mailboxes, if it hadn't happened to him.
Ramey mailed off his mortgage payment outside the main post office in Roanoke about two weeks ago. A few days later a woman from a car dealership down the street from the post office called him after employees found his check outside on the ground.
"It's been isolated so far and we are talking to people in the area that may have information or may have been a victim," says B.A. Brumbaugh, an inspector with the U.S. Post Office.
The thieves, who stole Ramey's check right out of the mailbox, were after his check routing number.
"They cut it off, it was like perforated," says Ramey.
Two days after he dropped his $500 mortgage payment in the mail an $850 check to the Lynchburg Walmart showed up on his account
"I know I didn't write that." says Ramey.
What Ramey does know is that he never thought he'd be a victim of mail theft.
"After you drop your mail off, you don't look to see if somebody else's is pulling in behind you. They could've been sitting across the street," says Ramey.
Authorities say the boxes that are mostly being tampered with are the ones with the "snorkel opening." The theives are rigging them so your mail won't fall all the way to the bottom.
Postal Inspector Brumbaugh has confirmed this is the only case he's aware of in the area. A minor problem he says has the potential of getting a lot bigger.
Authorities have reason to believe the culprit(s) is not from this area.
