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Saint-Laurent residents worry about identity theft after mailboxes broken into

Dozens of community mailboxes were forced open and emptied in Saint-Laurent Thursday, leaving residents worried about identity theft.

In total, 63 boxes were vandalized and much of the contents, such as junk mail and magazines, were found in nearby bushes and trash cans.

"They knew what they were looking for," said resident Natasha Lappos.

A neighbour, she said, saw a group of men between 11:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. around the postboxes and assumed they were enjoying a night out.

"But the next morning, we saw that everything was open," she said.

Lappos and her neighbours have been in touch with Canada Post and the police but, she said, neither have offered help.

"Some sort of next steps would be nice on who to call or what to do to protect our identities," she said.

Lappos said she has worked for a financial institution and, with that experience, she has been counselling neighbours on how to protect their identity. It doesn't take much information is needed to commit identity fraud, she noted.

"My primary concern is that in a few months, we all don't become victims of identity fraud," she said. "I don't want to be a victim."

Beyond the threat of identity theft, Lappos said she is "concerned about the safety of the boxes if they can so easily be broken into and so quickly."

Two years ago, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued a warning about what it said was an increase in thefts since door-to-door delivery was swapped for community mailboxes. The union described community mailboxes as a one-stop shop for thieves.

In a recent statement, Canada Post says it takes "the security of the mail very seriously" and that they are working with police "to deter and stop those who commit property crimes."