I opened the door, and realized the papers were pieces of mail. She handed me several, then told me where she found them -- in the woods behind her house.
We'd been hit by mail thieves, again! This has been a problem in our neighborhood for a few years. It's usually closer to when tax refunds are sent out, or, just before Christmas, when gift cards and checks are often sent. But lately, it's been any time of the year. And we'd been the victims.
So angry, so worried, so annoyed, that someone would take advantage of another person's hard work. We are just ordinary people, taking care of our business, day in and day out. Trying to make ends meet. Trying to save for retirement. Trying to pay our bills. What right did these thieves think they had, that they could steal our mail, our financial information, our checks, our sense of security?!
And now, my husband and I had to go to the cost and trouble, to replace our mailbox with a locking one. And we had to file a police report. Now, we'll need to closely scrutinize future bank account information, credit card statements, and credit reports. So annoyed!
I did my homework, though. I went online and read reviews of several different makes and models of locking mailboxes. These things aren't cheap. Not if you want to get one that really keeps the thieves out of your mail.
Some makes/models use the exact same key for all the boxes they sell! Others can be pried open with a screwdriver in under a minute. And others have a slot that doesn't get the mail out of a fishing thief's fingers.
I eventually found a box on Amazon, that looks like it will deter most thieves. Next, I searched online for a better price on the model that I had settled on. I found the same make/model on Lowes.com, with free shipping, and for about $40 less than Amazon.com. And finally, I shopped through Swagbucks, earning swag dollars for my purchase.
At least if we have to pay to replace our mailbox, I feel I did get a good price on it.
But I'm still annoyed.
Some helpful advice that I'll pass on to you.
- Never allow incoming mail to sit in an unlocked box more than a couple of hours.
- Never place outgoing mail in your box. But if you do, don't put your flag up. The mailman told me that he didn't need the flag, that he would see our outgoing mail in the box, when he went to place new mail inside.
- If you are the victim of mail theft, report it. Mail theft isn't just a nuisance, it's a federal crime. A friend of ours told me that they had trouble with mail theft a few years back, and they were actually able to catch the thief, and have him prosecuted.
- Secure your mailbox area. Remove or prune shrubs, trees and bushes surrounding the mailbox. If there's a street light in the area, make sure that its light is not obstructed by tree branches.
- Tidy up your mailbox stand and area. An untidy mail delivery area looks like it could be unattended.
- If you can afford to upgrade to a locking mailbox, do your homework and find a model that truly is secure.
- Alert all of your neighbors about the mail theft. Post signs, if legal, above neighbor's mailboxes. The fewer non-locking mailboxes in a development/area, the less likely mail thieves will target this area.
- Consider alerting your bank and credit card companies, and placing a fraud alert on your credit report.
- Even if you have a locking mailbox, have your mail held while you're on vacation. In even some of the better locking mailboxes, mail can pile up inside, and be more easily fished out.
I hope that you already have a locking mailbox, and that this could never happen to you. It's been an invasion in our family's sense of security. And, yes, I'm still really annoyed over this.
