The end of Canada Post's door-to-door service has introduced a new problem in Surrey, B.C.: a rise in community mailbox break-ins.
Thieves have apparently figured out how to break into Canada Post's supposedly high-security "superboxes," leaving residents' mail vulnerable.
Surrey resident Julie Parker says her community mailbox has been broken into three times since autumn, with the latest break-in coming on Wednesday. The multi-compartment mailbox was still broken and taped up on Saturday.
"It's terrifying for some people, especially the older people in our community," Parker told CTV Vancouver on Saturday.
She said she plans to buy a separate, private mailbox so her personal information will not be stolen.
Tim Armstrong, of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, says he's seen a rise in the number of community mailbox break-ins recently in the B.C. area.
"It's been an epidemic in B.C., especially the Lower Mainland," Armstrong told CTV Vancouver.
"We think It will continue and it will get worse," he added. "Thieves are ingenious."
Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton says the organization is "working closely with police" to help investigate the break-ins and prevent future ones.
Canada Post has begun replacing its broken "superboxes" with new designs, but thieves have apparently found ways to break into those, too.
Armstrong says door-to-door mail delivery is still the safest way to keep people's personal information out of the hands of would-be thieves.
Canada Post began eliminating door-to-door mail delivery last year. The organization plans to replace its home-delivery service with community mailboxes in a gradual rollout over a five-year period.
About one-third of Canadians relied on door-to-door delivery before Canada Post began the transition to community mailboxes.
With files from CTV Vancouver
