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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Project Safe Delivery is in the works by the United States Postal Service. It's cracking down on the recent rise of mail crimes, from attacking mail carriers to stealing mail and breaking into mailboxes.

The crimes are federal felonies, with hefty fines and prison sentences.

Now, a Sacramento Congressman is getting involved to help some hard-hit areas in the county.

The thieves are targeting cluster mailboxes, a unit with multiple mailboxes in one enclosed area. Law enforcement said the criminals are stealing the master keys, and they keep coming back, breaking in over and over again.

"It’s getting ridiculous. We are getting hit every day, somewhere in the neighborhood," said Natomas resident David Pacek.

Pacek and other Natomas residents are frustrated thieves are emptying out their mailboxes before they can grab their own mail. They inform each other when mailboxes get hit and post videos and pictures in online neighborhood groups.

"This one has been broken into at least three times in the last year or two," Pacek said.

U.S. Postal Inspector Jeff Fitch said a number of neighborhoods in Sacramento have been hit hard. He said inspectors are currently working on a number of investigations. Fitch said criminals steal the master key mail carriers use to open the cluster boxes and keep coming back.

"I don’t have a good answer as to why it’s increasing," Fitch said. "They’re after the attractive items that are moving through the mail, for some of the financial instruments for personal information."

U.S. Congressman Ami Bera is pushing the postal service to deliver new, safe and secure mailboxes.

"If there is anything we can do to put pressure on the postal service to make these cluster mailboxes more secure, that’s what I’m going to do," Bera said.

Bera met with postal inspectors this week, pointing out that mail thefts nationwide are on the rise. He’s trying to move Sacramento up on the list to get new mailboxes with electronic locks, making them harder for criminals to access.

"This has to be fixed. It's not just folks potentially losing social security checks or bills not getting paid, it’s also an inconvenience," he said.

USPS is taking the break-ins seriously. It’s raised the reward of tips leading to arrests and convictions from $10,000 to $100,000.

There is a 24-hour hotline with dispatchers who can take your information immediately. That number is 877 876 2455.