Video shows suspected thieves with master Post Office keys stealing mail after dark at San Jose complex

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — Mail theft is an age-old crime — and now, among the biggest targets: housing complexes with clustered mailboxes.

Officials say thieves are using stolen master keys that can open entire banks of mailboxes with one turn.

It happened at a San Jose condominium complex, where one homeowner took matters into his own hands, catching the thieves on camera.

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Residents in this complex resorted to using P.O. boxes or removing mail promptly to avoid thieves.

One homeowner didn’t settle for that. He put up a video camera and was stunned by what it captured.

Jim Arndt now makes sure there’s no mail in his mailbox before night falls in San Jose.

“It’s kind of scary, you know you can’t secure your mail anymore,” he said.

A warning posted at his condo complex last summer said someone was stealing mail from these boxes; because of the lack of forced entry on the boxes, the thieves appeared to be using a master key to get in. Residents should remove their mail promptly before thieves could get it.

Arndt wanted to do more.

“What we have to do also is catch the criminals, you know, if someone’s doing this…” he said.

So he installed a video camera on his roof, which happens to overlook the bank of mailboxes.

And two days later, in the dark of night, he got his first catch.

“It’s always really early when no one’s here,” Arndt said.

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The video shows someone casually walking up to the boxes at about 1 a.m., and swiping outgoing mail.

Days later, his camera captured a carload of thieves clad in white hoodies, pulling up at 3 a.m. — one acting as a lookout while the others cleaned out mailboxes.

Night after night, video showed more burglars pulling up in their cars, wearing hoodies and masks, ransacking mailboxes and making off with the loot — usually in the dead of night, but once in broad daylight.

“When I saw it myself, you know, I saw what is actually happening, and you come to realize that if you leave your mail in there overnight you’re playing Russian roulette,” Arndt said. “You don’t know what you’re getting in the mail until you pick it up, so they steal it and you don’t realize it’s being stolen.”

Arndt told neighbors he had video of thieves stealing their mail.

He realized he might’ve been a victim, too.

“I don’t have my DMV tags, right? So I’m thinking maybe they stole them… One time my mom sent a silver dollar to my son. We never got it. Was that them? My sister sent me a gift card. I never got it for my birthday,” he said.

He showed the video to San Jose police, who pointed him to the Postal Inspector.

Postal Inspector Matthew Norfleet said some mail carriers have been robbed of their master keys, known as “arrow” keys, which open boxes along entire delivery routes. The thieves can then open countless mailboxes around the Bay Area.

“It’s a widespread problem in San Jose and across the region and across the country, really,” said Norfleet.

“They’re being held at gunpoint and those keys are being taken from them, then the keys go to an underground economy, they’re bought and sold by mail thieves,” he continued.

Data shows seven master keys were stolen or lost in San Jose back in 2023, though none were reported missing last year.

“They want to get checks and credit cards and go turn those into cash as quickly as they can,” Norfleet said of the thieves.

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Arndt said he asked the postal service to change out their locks, but was turned down.

“Apparently, they don’t have it in their budget to replace the keys, so that doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.

The Postal Inspector said officials stay quiet about any lock changes to prevent tipping off thieves.

“I can’t say what parts of town have had their locks replaced without saying what parts of town haven’t had their locks replaced yet,” said Norfleet.

But Arndt’s camera said it all. It caught two thieves jumping out of a car and cleaning out mailboxes in mid-October.

A week later, a thief in a truck took more.

Arndt says San Jose police agreed to patrol the area… and so far this month, his camera has detected nothing.

But the master keys are still out there.

“All across the country, think of all the apartment buildings like New York. None of them are safe anymore,” Arndt said.

The Postal Service says it is continually replacing and repairing mailbox locks, but it’s a never-ending cycle of break, repair and replace. Officials say you can help by reporting mail theft when you see it — but warn you should never confront a thief directly.

Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.

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