Thief with key steals mail from 4 USPS mailboxes in Lexington

LEXINGTON - Police in Lexington are alerting anyone who used four U.S. Postal Service mailboxes in town recently that their mail may have been stolen.

Someone took mail from inside three USPS mailboxes in front of the post office at 1661 Massachusetts Ave. and a fourth by the town office building at 1625 Massachusetts Ave, police said . The thefts took place sometime between 4 p.m. Saturday and Monday morning.

Mailbox key used to steal mail

The thief used a master key to get into the mailboxes, police said. Post offices nationwide have struggled to secure the universal keys, and thieves have targeted postal carriers for the keys they carry.

Just last week, three mail carriers were robbed of their keys at gunpoint in Boston and Everett.

"At this time, we believe the individual responsible was able to obtain a key that allowed them to access these mailboxes," Lexington police said in a statement. "We do not know how or where the individual acquired the key."

Warning for Lexington residents

Police say anyone who used those mailboxes between 4 p.m. on April 27 and the morning of April 29 should let the intended recipient of their mail know it may not arrive.

Anyone who put a check in those mailboxes should "contact your back immediately," police said. There have been multiple incidents of "check washing" reported in recent months in the Boston area, where someone removes the name and original amount the check is written for, and replaces it with whatever they want.

Lexington residents are encouraged to use the post office instead of blue mailboxes to send mail, as the post office lobby is open 24 hours a day.