Santa Barbara residents report missing mail as bank sees spike in check fraud

Some people who use the San Roque Post Office in Santa Barbara are concerned after they say mail theft in the area has gone unaddressed.

“Just be careful where you mail your letters,” said longtime Santa Barbara resident Marla Hemingway.

Hemingway has lived down the street from the San Roque Post Office since the 1940s and says she had no issues until this year when three mailed checks went missing in July.

“They haven’t cleared through the bank or arrived at the person I mailed them to,” Hemingway added.

Postal Service employees at the San Roque office declined to be on camera but confirmed mail theft occurred at their location on August 15.

Some customers say it left them feeling apprehensive.

“We’ll see if this arrives. We’re going to go back and tell the people we mailed it to that we mailed it today,” said Santa Barbara resident Larry Fisher.

Other people I spoke with at the post office said they have had letters with checks inside go missing, some mailed in June.

Brianna Aguilar of Montecito Bank & Trust says in July, they started to notice a spike in check fraud.

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