Thousands of Langley and Surrey residents have had their community mailboxes broken into in just the past few months, according to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

Stephen Gale, a spokesman for CUPW, said the problem of community mailbox theft has quickly become “critical” and will continue to get worse unless Canada Post takes immediate action.

“They should be throwing everything they have at this problem and solving it quickly,” he said. “People are concerned and their identities are at risk.”

Thieves has been targeting the so-called superboxes in Surrey and Langley, but the problem also extends to Langley and Chilliwack, according to Gale.

With Canada Post planning on phasing out door-to-door mail delivery to return the company to financial stability, he warned the problem will only get worse unless mailbox security is improved.

“They’re an old design,” he said. “They came out in the mid-to-late eighties and haven’t changed dramatically since then. They’ve done some security upgrades to them but basically it’s the same design.”

Langley resident Carole Mills said she’s been victimized in the recent spate of mail theft.

A few days ago, she went to collect her mail and found her community mailbox was pried open – and each individual compartment emptied.

“They’re calling these boxes secure but as far as I’m concerned, if somebody’s able to get in my mail that easily without being detected, I would call that insecure,” she said.

It’s not the first time it’s happened, she said, and a previous theft allowed thieves to steal not just her mail, but her identity.

“They were able to get a Visa card with that information and then they were able to rent a car on that Visa card and I received the bill for it.”

Anick Losier from Canada Post said the company will replace the outdated boxes soon.

“What we’re trying to do is replace equipment with more reinforced equipment. We have identified high-risk areas in the Lower Mainland and we’re going to be working over the next few months to replace all of the boxes in those areas,” she said.

Mounties have remained silent on the issue of mail theft, though Canada Post and Surrey RCMP said officers aren’t being told to withhold commenting.

When contacted by CTV News, Surrey Mounties said they’re aware of the problem but that it’s a regional issue.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Michele Brunoro