Tag: Mailbox theft

USPS Informed Delivery – From your Inbox to your Mailbox

Waiting for checks or payments to come in the mail is an excruciating thing to endure.  Is it coming today?  or tomorrow?  maybe later in the week or next week?  Should I rush home to get the mail in time to get back to the Bank to cash my check?

These are the questions that can now be answered by the USPS (United States Postal Service) Informed Delivery.   You can enroll using the link above, some areas might not be available just yet, but fear not, it’s coming soon.  The meat and potatoes of this service is that the USPS scans each piece of first class mail going through the mail sorting machines.  From the bar coding they can route these grey-scale pictures directly to your Inbox for what mail is being delivered in your Mailbox that day.

Pretty cool service right?  I thought so, so I tried to sign up, and as luck would have it, not available in my area just yet 🙁 .   Perhaps, you can sign up today and see how it works.  One of the secondary benefits is knowing what mail your suppose to receive in your Mailbox today, so if something is missing you might have been affected by mailbox theft.  Knowing that your missing mail allows you to act quicker to alert the authorities.

It seems that every day we get notifications across the news and media wire of mailbox theft or identity theft that started from personal mail theft from a person’s mailbox.  Mailbox theft is still the easiest way to get personal information about you and your family or even worse yet, taking that check that you were looking for and cashing it causing pain and anxiety.   Sign up for the Informed Delivery today and don’t regret making time to see it through.  Best of all, it’s FREE!  But please Stop Mailbox Theft by getting a Locking Mailbox from SimpleMailboxes today!

Identity Theft and your Mailbox

Identity Theft Facts:

  • Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States.
  • Identity theft starts with low tech methods: Stolen Mail, stolen wallets & stolen trash.
  • Those between the ages of 20 and 29 have the highest odds of becoming identity theft victims — a nearly 1-in-5 chance.
  • Every hour in the United States, there are 74 robberies — but nearly 2,000 identity theft incidents.

This is pretty scary stuff.  Don’t be a victim of mail theft leading to identity theft!

What can you do?

Since your mailbox is one of the easiest sources for criminals to find information about you and your identity, it’s time to remove that source.  The best method is to get a post office box and discontinue home delivery of your mail.  But for most everyone, this method is not an option due to the distance or inconvenience to get to the post office.

The easiest method for most every day Americans is to employ a locked mailbox.  The locked mailbox allows the mail carriers to put your mail into the box but a key is required to retrieve the mail, making it much safer than your standard rural mailbox or urban mailbox which requires no key to retrieve the mail.  Simplemailboxes.com provides two different models of security lockable mailboxes:  One for rural style and one for urban style.

Lockable Urban Mailbox

 

Having your incoming mail secure can bring peace of mind knowing that your identity is much safer than before.

Safe Mail Handling Practices

Tips for safe mail handling practices include:

  • Dropping your outgoing mail at the post office.  Leaving your outgoing mail in your mailbox when you leave for work allows for an opportunity of mail theft, as outgoing mail cannot be secured.
  • Always lock your mailbox after retrieving your incoming mail!
  • Don’t leave mail in your mailbox for days at time.
  • If you have options on your bills to have them paperless, exercise this option and limit incoming sensitive mail.

Being a victim of identity theft doesn’t have to start with your mailbox, get a secure mailbox today and ward off those pesky criminals!