Package thief targets condos in Fourth Ward

CHARLOTTE — Neighbors in Fourth Ward say they’re on high alert after unwanted guests entered their building and stole packages last month and returned to take more.

Several residents at 626 North Graham Loft reported the missing mail to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

A resident sent Channel 9 a surveillance photo, which they say shows someone, who isn’t a resident, scanning access into the building.

Another photo taken four minutes later shows them walking away with a package.

Residents said they believe the thieves gained access through a copied or fraudulent key fob.

“This is where we normally keep our packages,” said Casey Stephens, a victim. “We have just a small mail area. When we realized that they were getting stolen, we started storing them in another location.”

A lot of key fob technology isn’t secure, a professor at UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing.

“The door has a reader on it,” said Dr. Mohamed Shehad, a professor of software and information systems at UNC Charlotte. “And some of them have very cheap readers that don’t have the security standards connected in them.”

He said it’s easy to replicate the technology.

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Neighbors said property management made updates to the building’s technology hoping it will keep uninvited visitors away.

Channel 9 reached out to 626 North Graham Lofts for comment. We’re still waiting to hear back.