Quebec mailboxes targeted in credit card fraud wave

A Laval resident discovered her mailbox glued shut and nearly $5,000 in fraudulent charges, as police warn of growing mail theft and credit card scams.

Fraudsters are targeting Quebec mailboxes, and at least one Laval resident has been left with thousands of dollars in fraudulent credit card charges.

Isabelle Laroche first noticed something was wrong in early March, when she went to grab her mail but found her community mailbox would not open.

“Because there was an ice storm, I thought it was maybe because of this that my mailbox was locked,” said Laroche.

Instead, her mailbox was glued shut. After several days of trying to open her mailbox, she finally managed to get inside and discovered her mail had been tampered with.

“I was shaking,” she said.

Within days, Laroche found out that nearly $5,000 had been charged to a TD credit card in her name, a bank she does not use.

She also noticed chalk markings on her lock.

"So probably they were tagging it that way," said Laroche.

Repentigny police have also warned about a wave of credit card fraud hitting the region on a Facebook post.

Laroche has since filed a police report and alerted Canada Post.

Laval police declined a request for an interview, citing an ongoing investigation.

Canada Post said it is aware of the fraud and is taking the situation seriously.

The postal service is advising residents to take precautions, including:

• Pick up your mail every day.
• If you’re away, pause mail delivery until you return.
• For sensitive mail, have packages delivered to a local post office.
• Track shipments online.

Laroche’s fraudulent credit card has since been cancelled, but she hopes her story will serve as a warning to others.

She encourages anyone who is a victim to file a police report.

"It’s worth it if we want to catch them," she said.