Newspaper box thieves have come up with a new tactic in which they pick up a box at a location and replace it with another box stolen from somewhere else.

“We’re asking that if anyone sees someone picking up Gaffney Ledger boxes and they are not in a clearly marked Ledger van to please call us at 489-1131 or call 911 and report a theft in progress,” Ledger Publisher Cody Sossamon said.

In one recent case, thieves picked up a Ledger box at Bi- Lo and replaced it with a Spartanburg Herald-Journal box. In another incident, a Ledger box at The Clock was replaced with a Greenville News box.

“Apparently these thieves want it to look as if they are legitimate employees. They are not and we need the public’s help to catch them,” Sossamon said.

Money is collected from the boxes twice a week by a Ledger employee, who is not in a Ledger van, but he does not take the entire box.

Only a few dollars in change is in a newspaper box at any given time, Sossamon said.