In February 2020 a postal worker was on his walk in the north of our Borough delivering letters.  He entered the garden of a property, at which point a male, who had been parked in a vehicle nearby awaiting his arrival, followed him into the garden and asked him to hand over the mail. 

The postal worker realised that the male was not the usual occupant of the house and refused, at which point the male took the mail by force and made off in the vehicle. 

An investigation was undertaken by the Police, who worked closely with members of Neighbourhood Watch to identify and secure sources of CCTV evidence, which showed both the crime and the vehicle involved.  The male was identified and has now been arrested, charged with robbery and fraud and remanded in custody.  An excellent result by the Police and NHW working together. 

Crime prevention: 

Postal interception such as this is aimed at gaining control of documents which have been sent to a known address in order to commit fraud for financial gain. 

It's important that you minimise your own risk of fraud by following these simple steps: 

Always shred items bearing your name, address, financial or other identifying details before recycling.

Make sure that any external letterboxes is secured well and is hard to enter without a key; empty it daily.

Fit doorstep CCTV specifically covering your door or letterbox and approach.

You can remove your name from telephone directories by contacting your services provider.

You can ensure that your details do not appear on the searchable open electoral register by using the Government "Register to vote" service here: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote even if you have already registered.

Check your security settings on social media - your date of birth can be very easy to discover.

Use a search engine to look for your own name and address or phone number online - if it appears then you can contact the body responsible and ask for those details to be removed.