Thieves are making it harder for cash-strapped students to make money back on their overpriced college textbooks mailed through the US Postal Service.

Brazen textbook theft and destruction during shipping by USPS is becoming more common — just as growing numbers of students increasingly resell their weighty tomes online and ship via USPS. “An empty wrapper with your address was found in the mail, and it is believed to have been separated from a parcel during handling,” noted one postal correspondence to a distraught, debt-burdened student.

A spokesman for USPS said just a few bad apples are causing the grief for students. The vast majority of postal workers are honest and hardworking, he added.

The spokesman said that students should carefully package their textbooks to help avoid theft and destruction.