Criminals targeting Chicago mail carriers to steal this item

Illinois senator calls for better protection for Chicago mail carriers following armed robberies

Criminals are targeting Chicago letter carriers for their master keys that unlock mailboxes throughout a ZIP code. With those keys, they can steal mail, allowing them to wash and rewrite checks, or sell the keys to other criminals.

CHICAGO - Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is pushing to keep U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carriers safe after a number of Chicago workers were robbed on their routes in recent weeks.

The armed robberies have mail carriers terrified and concerned for their safety.

Police have received more than a dozen reports since March involving one to three armed men in dark clothing and ski masks approaching mail carriers and taking their master keys to apartment buildings and mailboxes. In one case, a mail carrier had their truck stolen.

Now, Durbin is calling on the USPS and Department of Justice to take steps to better protect mail carriers.

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"These criminals are targeting letter carriers because they carry master keys which unlock mailboxes across a zip code. With these master keys, the thieves can steal mail anytime they wish, allowing them to wash and rewrite checks in the mail for whatever amount they want, or even resell the keys to criminals," Durbin said.

Criminals target Chicago mail carriers to steal this item

A string of armed robberies targeting mail carriers in Chicago neighborhoods has Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin calling for action.

Durbin says that as a result of these attacks, staffing levels at the postal service are at historic lows, threatening the critical service of mail delivery.

Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of St. Sabina Parish in Chicago, addressed the fear of mail carriers in a recent interview with Fox 32 Chicago.

"Our letter carrier came in here with this look of fright on her face, and she just said 'I'm just letting you know I won’t be here today. I'm going to turn in the truck now. I can't do this. My life is not...I have a son to raise,'" Pfleger said.

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"And then she asked, 'would you watch me going back to my truck?' And so we watched her go back to her truck, but she was just so frightened and so much fear on her face, and I said, 'this is crazy.'"

A few of the robberies occurred near Pfleger’s church.

One Chicago mail carrier told FOX 32 she was assaulted by a group of men on Saturday. The worker said the incident began as a road rage case, in which she was threatened and the windshield of her mail truck was smashed.