I found a thread from 2017 about hardened mailboxes and "mailbox baseball."

Our problem is slightly different. Here in suburban Connecticut, thieves are driving through neighborhoods rifling through standard mailboxes. This morning all the boxes in our neighborhood were "open"... including ours.

The wife believes we need a locking mailbox like this:



https://www.fortknoxmailbox.com/product/m1-lt/

Does anyone have any advice on locking mailboxes? Ours is mounted on a post on a suburban street.

I wrote about this in the forum sometime back.The locking mailbox is not an effective deterrent. Having a box at UPS as Vtail does or a USPS box is the best solution. I NEVER put outgoing mail in my home mailbox. About three years ago a local criminal paid homeless people to go and take mail from home mailboxes. I had a check stolen and altered. Hope this helps.

Get a PO Box. It ranges from $60 - $140 year but well worth it in my opinion.

The P.O. box is probably the best idea for multiple reasons. Besides keeping your mail secure, it doesn't associate your mailing address with where you live.

Being lazy and not wanting to go to the post office to check mail, we had a welder fab up a locking box that fits into the wall of the entry. It has a post office key in the front that allows the mail lady to swing the front of the box open (roughly 2'x2' door), put the mail in, close and lock it. We have another door with our lock on the back side of the wall. Joe did a nice job on the box. It looks good, plain, doesn't stick out, but looks fine, and there isn't anywhere to get a purchase to pry it open (edges are rolled in and fit tight). It was only worth the effort because I'm too lazy to go to the P.O. for mail.

What are y'all getting by mail in 2022 that would need a secure mailbox? All I see in mine is junk and the occasional AMZN package (which won't fit in that slot....).

quote:

What are y'all getting by mail in 2022 that would need a secure mailbox? All I see in mine is junk and the occasional AMZN package (which won't fit in that slot....

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lets see. My drivers license and concealed carry permit, all IRS letters, letter from Social Security etc. These folks demand home address. PO box will not do.

If you decide not to get a PO box, a locking mailbox works fine.
Our home came with one (from Lowes) and while it works great, it is beginning to rust. It's black painted carbon steel construction.
It gets salt splashed on it when the snow plow comes by and plows the road.
I also take outgoing mail to the Post Office, but that is not very frequent due to electronic banking.

I did find a very nice replacement stainless steel locking mailbox for when this one rusts out, they are NOT inexpensive.

https://www.mailcase.com/produ...eel-locking-mailbox/

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
What are y'all getting by mail in 2022 that would need a secure mailbox? All I see in mine is junk and the occasional AMZN package (which won't fit in that slot....).

Mail that could be used to compromise our identities, but I can see how getting a post office box would avoid that issue... but we feel we should take steps to deter unknown persons pilfering any of our mail.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

What are y'all getting by mail in 2022 that would need a secure mailbox?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Lets see. My drivers license and concealed carry permit, all IRS letters, letter from Social Security etc.

Yep. Most government correspondence still comes by mail, with some of it even being required to arrive by mail by law.

Luckily, most businesses (including sensitive stuff like banks, insurance companies, and mortgage companies) have now allowed electronic correspondence.

I'm with ZSMICHAEL. Get a box at UPS. I wouldn't get a USPS PO Box as then you can't receive FedEX or UPS.

Our neighborhood US mailbox got regularly opened during a certain period before 2020.

If code allows, the USPS allows why not get a locking box, while PO boxes are good, they cost monthly fees, and require you to go get your mail.

Have one for the business works great, still requires me to go to the PO but the things coming to the box, and that we mail, I wouldn't leave in the hands of a route carrier, they need to go to the office..

Hopefully one of the neighbors has a camera that catches the thief.

Question on locking mailboxes.

I am assuming they all utilize one universal key?

We have a Ft. Knox one at work, but its always checked during the day/all outgoing mail is put out in the AM.

quote:

Question on locking mailboxes.

I am assuming they all utilize one universal key?

I just saw this 3 day old video yesterday on youtube. The Lock Picking Lawyer is someone I've followed on Youtube for a few years and I'm always amazed at how flimsy or pickable locks are and what you waste your money on.

FWIW I don't know exactly what rule he references, but maybe someone else here knows.



https://youtu.be/KUau7vVa5pQ Link to original video
.

Maybe juveniles, but likely scammers.

If it’s scammers, they are looking for checks. The way it works is that they get a check issued to you by someone else or cancelled checks of yours. They then print a new check for $5,000 using the old checks routing numbers and information.

They go to an area that the homeless frequent and find one that has an ID. They make the check out to that person. They give that person $100 to cash the check. They’ll do this for $40-50,000 over a couple of days and it’s a couple of weeks before the banks and local LE catches on. Local LE scoops up and charged the homeless guy.

Around here it cycles through about every six months. Drives our fraud guys and HSI agents nuts.

Cars are always rentals around the Atlanta area that the leasee gets paid $500 to rent the car.

Real bad guys are rarely caught.

Ring doorbell has my mailbox in its field of view.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I'm with ZSMICHAEL. Get a box at UPS. I wouldn't get a USPS PO Box as then you can't receive FedEX or UPS. ...

I've received both FedEx and UPS at my USPS PO Box.

A couple of things: The mailbox that is pictured will not work because your mail carrier is not required to carry a key for your private mailbox. They won't deliver to it.

Secondly, the Post Office won't deliver FedEX or UPS to your P.O. Box. FedEX and UPS both utilize the Post Office frequently for "last mile" delivery. They will drop mail off at a Post Office and then the Post Office will deliver that mail. So, technically, it is the Post Office's mail that is delivered to your P.O. Box even though it originated with FedEx or UPS.

Thirdly, there are risks to renting a box from a private company. The same protections are not available for lost or stolen "mail". Also, if you move, the private company is not legally responsible to forward your mail.

quote:

Originally posted by Ogie:
... the Post Office won't deliver FedEX or UPS to your P.O. Box. If you received it there, it was a mistake, a serious mistake. ...

I've had it happen for me. The tracking info says something like "FedEx transferred the item for delivery by USPS". I get a key in the PO Box that opens a bigger locker at the post office

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:

quote:

Originally posted by Ogie:
... the Post Office won't deliver FedEX or UPS to your P.O. Box. If you received it there, it was a mistake, a serious mistake. ...

I've had it happen for me. The tracking info says something like "FedEx transferred the item for delivery by USPS".

I corrected my above post to reflect that yes, that can happen. You posted as I was reviewing my post.