Thanks to Christine for the following post. If you have comments or additional information, go to the end of the article and click on “Leave a reply”.

EDGEMOOR MAIL THEFT

Dear Edgemoor Neighbors,

        Since the beginning of August there half been at least a half-dozen known mail thefts and locked mailbox break-ins on Briar, Fieldston, Bayside and Arbutus streets in Edgemoor. Thieves have stolen blank checks and cashed them. In my case both an ATM card and PIN were stolen on separate occasions, enabling them to clean out a checking account that I believed did not even have ATM card capability yet.The thieves are known to have driven through at night snatching mail. The locks or hinges of locking mailboxes have been popped or pried open. After taking what they want, they dispose of the rest in another mailbox, newspaper box or recycling box. Briar mail has been found on Clark; Fieldston on Arbutus, etc. Chuckanut Drive mail has also been dumped in Edgemoor. They struck on Monday night of Labor Day weekend when people were likely to be out of town, and again last Thursday. Several incidents have taken place on Thursday nights, when it’s easy to dump mail in someone else’s recycling.
Random bicyclists have also been observed in the neighborhood during the time that mail is normally delivered.The Bellingham Police are aware of these thefts, and that certain city neighborhoods are being targeted. However, each report has its own individual case number  — sometimes logged as fraud, sometimes vandalism — that makes it difficult to link the crimes.Here are a couple of actions you can take to protect yourself and your neighbors:Bring in your mail as soon as you are able to every day.If you were expecting anything that might be of value to thieves ( prescriptions, blank checks, payments, ATM or credit cards, or other material that might enable identity theft) that did not arrive, report it.
Be aware of and report suspicious vehicles or activity around mailboxes.If you find someone else’s mail, please write a note on it explaining how/where it was found before returning it to its rightful owner. Otherwise, the victim will be unaware of the theft. The postman will not inform customers that he is redelivering misplaced or dumped mail.