My neighbor just knocked on my door to tell me that people have been messing with mailboxes in the neighborhood and that they have been taking things out of them. Anyone else having this problem? Luckily we never have anything going out and all they are going to find is bills otherwise, but I don't like the idea of hoodlums at the end of my driveway at night. Ugh. If my dogs would stay out all night without barking to come in or tearing down the door I would do that, but not an option. :evil:
If they are stealing bills, they are getting your account info. Credit card and bank statements have your account numbers on them. If it is payments going out, they are getting your checks, can wash the ink from the "pay to" line and the amount lines, change it and cash it. There was a story on this on one of the news programs a few years ago. The reporter tried it and was able to wash the ink too. (Dateline? 20/20? One of those.)
Help Prevent Mailbox Vandalism taken directly from the post office web page http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/localnews/ma/ma_2007_1010a.htm Foxboro, MA — Taking a bat to a mailbox, or hitting it with a brick, or setting off a firecracker or pipe bomb inside or other vandalism may sound like fun to some rambunctious teens. However, it’s not a rite of passage, “kids just being kids.” It’s a criminal act that hurts our neighbors and our community. Mailboxes are protected by federal law, and crimes against them and the mail they contain are considered a federal offense. Violators can be fined up to $1000 or imprisoned for up to three years for each act of vandalism. Damaged mailboxes have to be replaced, costing the owner time, money and inconvenience. Meanwhile, the mail cannot be delivered. Many people depend on receiving monthly checks and other financial support through the mail, so doing without their mail negatively affects their lives. And some damaged mail cannot be replaced — family photos, letters from sons and daughters serving in the military overseas, and other priceless keepsakes that mean so much to the recipient. The impact of mailbox vandalism affects all of us. We don’t feel as secure in our neighborhoods and communities. Property values can drop as a result of vandalism and other crimes. And prospective new residents may think twice about moving here knowing that our young people have such callous disregard for the property of others. If you have teenagers at home, talk with them about the downside of damaging mailboxes, and vandalism in general. Remind them of the penalties, the impact on the victims, that they can get hurt or killed in the process, and that the Postal Service™ doesn’t take such crimes lightly. If you have information on mailbox vandalism or mail theft in your area, report it to your local Post Office™ or to the Postal Inspection Service. Here are a few tips from the Postal Inspection Service for preventing or dealing with problems of mailbox vandalism or theft: 1. Notify the postmaster immediately of theft of mail or its contents; alert local law enforcement agencies about vandalism involving your box; 2. Remove mail from the box as soon as possible after delivery; 3. If you discover someone tampering with your or your neighbor’s mailbox, get a description of the person(s), a description and license plate number of any vehicle, then immediately report this information to the police and to your postmaster; 4. Arrange with a neighbor to keep an eye on each other’s boxes, so that if someone is away for a few days, a neighbor can pick up the mail and hold it to prevent it from piling up in the box.
The best thing sounds like investing in a box that locks. I hate that punks are going to force me to have to go out and by one when the one I have is perfectly fine. Thankfully we do all of our banking online and never send out checks, but I still don't want identity theft etc. :banghead:
A few more tips on mailboxes: 1. Don't mail anything AFTER the carrier has gone. A raised flag all night invites tampering & theft. I see this all the time. 2. Don't mail anything with personal info/checks, etc. from your mailbox. Use online bill pay, or put it in a USPS box.
Does anyone know if an HOA can put flyers or letters in mailboxes WITHOUT a stamp or going through Post Office? I thought that would be an offense but they do it all the time
Not legally. It is a federal offense to put anything in a mailbox without proper postage, and I'm quite certain HOA's are not exempt. Although they might think they are above the law.
Actually, I think it is a federal offense for anyone other than your postperson to even open your mailbox, let alone put something in it. I've was told by my old neighborhood postman that its okay to place/attach something on the outside of the box but not inside.
You can't even do that anymore. We put some flyers in plastic hanging bags and hung them off the flag. Got in trouble with the postmaster. Ended up using a push pin to stick them to the post itself. People got mad about that too.
I always worry about the blank checks that credit card companies send me in the mail. It seems like those would be pretty easy to steal out of the mail box and cash.
we actually had that problem in our neighborhood a few years ago and came to find out it was the younger kids who were running around unsupervised during the day, they were taking mail and playing with it and putting rocks in mailboxes, etc:twisted: Mostly i mail everything out from work or do online but i do worry about the mail that comes in, it is rare for anyone to be home when the mail runs to go right out and get it.
If I could keep my neighbors from backing into my mailbox (3 times now) and not owning up to it, I'd be happy! The angle and everything that it's knocked over at makes it VERY obvious who is doing it! I'm sure it's accidentally but really...have the balls to come and apologize for it. My next step is to make my mailbox post out of cement blocks.
