Hills residents beware: Identity theft, the fastest-growing crime in the country, is set to affect more people in the coming years, according to Ryan McAlhaney, a U.S. postal inspector in Oakland.

A high percentage of those who commit this crime are drug addicts for whom identity theft can be a quick way to support their addiction, McAlhaney said.

"It's an easy crime, (and) more people are doing it because it's a great source of income for them," McAlhaney said to the 50-plus people who attended a Montclair Safety and Improvement Council meeting last week.

At the meeting, McAlhaney said hills residents should be concerned about the crime, since the Bay Area ranks second nationwide in terms of identity theft incidents. Phoenix tops the nation.

Robbie Neely, who heads the MSIC mail theft task team, said some hills residents don't know about the problem of mail theft -- but it often goes hand-in-hand with identity theft.

She and other members of the safety group, in cooperation with District 4 Councilwoman Jean Quan, organized the recent meeting so residents could get information to avoid becoming identity-theft victims. McAlhaney, Postal Service postmaster Lawrence Barnes and Oakland Police officer Anthony Ramos addressed such prevention.

The group's first meeting on mail theft was held July 10, when Neely and other residents told stories of mail theft on their streets. Mail theft has been an ongoing problem for several years in the hills, said Nick Vigilante, the group's president.

Since September 2002, McAlhaney said, he has received 153 complaints from Montclair.

He advised residents to not put outgoing mail in mailboxes and to pick up mail from the mailbox as soon as possible. He also said residents should buy a locking mailbox.

Criminals who commit identity theft steal mail in the hopes of acquiring checks, checkbooks, cash, Social Security numbers and credit-card statements, McAlhaney said.

How easily can your identity be stolen? One criminal bought $600 worth of computer equipment using information from a single credit-card statement, postal inspector McAlhaney said.

Police officer Ramos, who handles 80 to 90 percent of mail theft reports in Montclair, advised residents to buy a cross-cut shredder for financial documents. Identity thieves often go through garbage cans looking for complete or ripped-up documents they can piece together, he said.

Jim Dexter, a member of the safety group, said he's been placing outgoing mail in his mailbox all his life. "It can't be done anymore. If you take anything away from this meeting, that should be it," he said.

Vigilante said others have been talking with mailbox manufacturers about promotions that can help make secure mailboxes more affordable. Information about locking mailboxes was available at the meeting, when several of the boxes were raffled off. Proceeds from the raffle will go the council's crime-prevention program.

"Our goal (for the meeting) is to let (identity) thieves know Montclair is not the place you want to be in," Neely said.

For information on Montclair Safety and Improvement Council, mail theft or locking mailboxes, send e-mail to robbie@piedmontpines.org. To report mail theft, call the Mail Theft Team Oakland at 510-251-3013.

Reach Ana Facio Contreras at 510-339-4506 or acontreras@cctimes.com.