For some scammers, stealing from mailboxes is a career. Here's how you protect your identify

(FOX 2) - After a lengthy 2018 Bloomfield Township investigation arrested one man for mail theft, police have a message for residents:

Monitor your mail. 

"You have to understand, this is what these people do for a living," said Paul Schwab, a lieutenant with the Bloomfield Township Police Department. "Anything they can use that has a name and a number attached to it, they'll find a way to use it."

Theives will take the letters they want, and throw out the ones they don't. This can lead to one's identity getting stolen.

It was only by happenstance that police were able to apprehend someone stealing mail. A neighbor spotted the individual digging through someone's mailbox, and snagged a photo of their license plate and description of the vehicle before they left.

That's when search warrants led to thousands of pounds of mail.

However one crime solved means several others remain open. A pervasive issue in the tri-County area, officials recommend using the United States Postal Service's app that will send someone a picture of every piece of mail sent before it arrives.