Villa Park residents warned about fraud due to stolen mail

Villa Park residents are advised to be vigilant about their financial information after mail was stolen from collection boxes outside the Villa Park post office.

Villa Park police confirmed on Monday that two collection boxes had been pried open sometime over the weekend of Nov. 20-21 at 1415 S. Ardmore Ave. Deputy Chief Dan McCann said a report was filed at 9:38 a.m. Nov. 22 about the "unknown amount of mail" that had been stolen.

McCann said Villa Park police contacted U.S. Postal Inspectors Division since mail theft and tampering are federal crimes. Questions emailed to the Chicago office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were not immediately returned late Monday afternoon.

In October, Lombard police similarly warned residents about fraud due to stolen mail from collection boxes.

As an extra precaution, McCann agreed with the advice that any mail involving financial information should be physically deposited inside U.S. postal buildings.

Residents who experience fraud or lost mail should contact the U.S. Postal Inspectors Office at uspis.gov/report.