Major USPS report indicates that 89% of all reported mail thefts happened within these 5 cities.

Findings Summary
“Although the Postal Service has developed initiatives to address issues around mail theft, carrier robberies, and arrow key accountability, we found they have not established actionable milestones and timelines for the full implementation of these initiatives.”

While it may be true that “89% of reported mail thefts” may be concentrated in these major metropolitan areas the fact that there were “158 news stories from major media outlets about mail theft and carrier robberies from October 2021 through May 2023″ makes it clear that mail theft continues to be a serious and increasing problem in the whole of the United States. The fact that the USPS has no real plan or strategy to curb the issue is abundantly apparent in their startling admission that 1.7 million pieces of mail are stolen every day. Mail theft is affecting more than a third (36%) of Americans who rely on postal services, and there is no indication that this problem is going away, as year after year mail theft rates continue to rise.

According to a recently released audit report on the U.S. Postal Service’s Response to Mail Theft the USPS inspector general found “that from March 2020 through February 2021, the Postal Inspection Service received 299,020 mail theft complaints, which was an increase of 184,564 (+161 %) complaints compared to the same period in the previous year. (As shown in Figure 1) The majority of the FCD complaints for FYs 2021 and 2022 within the five divisions included in our review {Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Houston & Chicago} were related to mail theft. In just those five divisions, with a total of 165,316 mail theft complaints for that period, mail theft complaints comprised about 89% of the 186,753 total complaints received during FYs 2021 and 2022.” However the USPS goes on to admit that they can only record official mail theft complaints if they have been specifically tied to a USPS tracking number, meaning the ACTUAL number of reported mail thefts may be significantly higher.

Mail theft can happen in a variety of ways, from simply fishing mail out of unlocked receptacles, to the notorious porch pirates, and all the way up to the smash and grabbers who break into sub-standard “locking mailboxes” which only offer the illusion of security while having less sturdiness than a gum-ball machine. The criminals who perpetrate these crimes run the gamut from everyday opportunistic thieves to sophisticated scammers who can destroy your credit for years to come.

It seems that the primary goal of many mail thieves is the old tried and true identity theft, which they use to commit fraud with the information they can gleam from the mail they steal which can range from: Your name, address, social security number, phone number, email address, to your credit card and bank account information. Even more disturbingly in November 2022, Axios reported a significant increase in check thefts, with stolen checks being sold online for as much as $650. But worst of all, these crooks regularly use your confidential data to go on to open credit cards or loans in your name. They may even trade your identity with other scammers on the dark web or other black markets to more sophisticated crime syndicates that may end up using your information to commit additional crimes that could cause you headaches for the rest of your life.

This isn’t just hypothetical, this is exactly what happened to us, which is why we created the Mail Boss Locking Security Mailbox. In our experience the most effective way to prevent mail theft from happening in the first place is to simply use a high-security locking mailbox, and unfortunately when this happened to us there wasn’t a product on the market that fit our security expectations. So we designed our own to provide a reliable and secure solution, to protect your mail from vandals, theft and adverse weather conditions. Investing in a Mail Boss is a prudent step to prevent mail-based identity theft and ensure your peace of mind. Sure, we may be a little bais, but we highly suggest that you order your Mail Boss today to fortify your first line of defense against the ongoing issue of mail theft.

Curbside Mailboxes

Protect your mail and packages with Mail Boss’s USPS-approved, heavy-duty steel post-mounted mailboxes. Mail Boss offers superior security and vandalism resistance, making them perfect for homes and businesses in rural areas.

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Package Mailboxes

Mail Boss offers USPS-approved, secure package mailboxes in various sizes & styles. Protect deliveries from porch pirates with locking compartments & durable construction. Shop now & get peace of mind!

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Wall Mount Locking Mailboxes

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