Other Locking Mailboxes: Part I

Mail Boss competitors fail to provide mail security

If you are like many Americans, you may have resorted to buying a locking mailbox to prevent your mail from getting into the hands of mail identity thieves. You know that a secure locking mailbox can help protect you from the epidemic of identity theft, but you may not know that most locking mailboxes are not secure.

If you already have purchased a locking mailbox, I am sure you believed you were protecting yourself against mail and identity theft when you forked out a hefty hunk of change. The sad reality, however, is that the majority of locking mailboxes are not secure and leave you vulnerable to criminals.

In this video, we demonstrate the inferior quality and security of some of our competitors’ locking mailboxes. In our opinion, these locking mailboxes, ranging in price from $80 to $200+, do not provide mail security and cannot provide real protection against mail and identity theft. They can be “fished” by hand or pried opened in just seconds.

1. Curbside MAILSAFE^TM by Solar Group, a Gibraltar Industries company

The first locking mailbox featured in this video is the Curbside MAILSAFE^TM by Solar Group, a Gibraltar Industries company. This mailbox retails for under $100 and is a popular locking mailbox featured in the big-box stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. The Solar Group touts a “Concealed locking access door for easy mail retrieval” in their MAILSAFE product description.

As the video clearly shows, the MAILSAFE^TM certainly allows for easy mail retrieval. An average sized man quickly and easily retrieves mail by hand via the incoming mail door in just seconds. Then, a man of average strength rips off the mail door by hand. This mailbox is made of plastic and metal, and is not worth its weight in junk-mail in terms of the security it provides.

Security Inadequacies:

• Can be fished by hand
• Can be pried/opened by hand
• Can be pried/opened with a screwdriver

2. Oasis Jr.® by Architectural Mailboxes

The second locking mailbox featured in this video is the Oasis Jr.® by Architectural Mailboxes, “America’s Leading Manufacturer of Premium Mailboxes”. It can be purchased online for about $100-$150 depending on shipping costs.

This mailbox features “an innovative oversized patented Parcel Delivery Door which allows for delivery of small parcels and mail bundles,” purportedly “keeping items secure until the box is unlocked.” As this video shows, however, the reality is that this hopper style incoming door accepts small to medium size parcels, and also accepts fishing hands. Watch as a man retrieves a small parcel from this mailbox in less than 10 seconds. Additionally, the locking access door can be pried open with a screwdriver in just seconds (video here).

The consequences of these security inadequacies could be devastating. This high-capacity “security” mailbox may provide homeowners a false sense of security, which could cause them to leave their mail much longer than they would otherwise in an unlocked box.

Security Inadequacies:

• Can be fished by hand
• Can be pried/opened with a screwdriver

*2/17/10 UPDATE* See Other Locking Mailboxes: The Oasis for more information.

3. Pinnacle Locking Mailbox^TM by Pinnacle Mailboxes, a Davis Tool Inc. company

The third and final locking mailbox featured in this video is the Pinnacle Locking Mailbox^TM by Pinnacle Mailboxes. It can be purchased online for approximately $160 including shipping and handling. Pinnacle Mailboxes states in their product description that this mailbox can hold 1-2 weeks worth of mail and is made to keep anyone from seeing what’s inside your mailbox.

“The Pinnacle accepts a full bundle of mail in one motion and has one of the largest drop chutes of any mailbox in its class allowing even a phone book to pass through. The Pinnacle Mailbox can keep several days of mail while security flaps keep incoming mail secure. Only you have the key.”

Unfortunately, you don’t need a key to get into the Pinnacle^TM. As you can see in the video, it takes about a second to get into the Pinnacle Mailbox^TM with a common screwdriver. As with the Oasis Jr.^TM, this presents a tremendous opportunity for thieves to exploit unknowing Americans who may leave days of mail vulnerable in their “security” mailboxes.

Security Inadequacies:

• Can be pried/opened with a screwdriver

Take Home Lesson: the value of a locking mailbox

Many people think that simply having a locking mailbox will be enough to deter a mail thief. As long as there are other unlocked mailboxes, just the sight of a locked mailbox will cause a thief to move on to an easier target. While this may be true to some extent, the reality is that more and more people are purchasing security mailboxes, and the number of unlocked “easy” mailbox targets is dwindling. In the meantime, thousands of people with locked mailboxes of inferior quality have become victims of mail theft. See, for example, this story.

The reality is that no mailbox is 100% theft proof. What everyone needs is a security mailbox that can successfully deter would-be identity thieves. How do you prevent mail theft? Buy a heavy duty, quality security mailbox like the curbside Mail Boss that takes a lot of TIME to violate. If a thief has to stand in front of your mailbox for 20 minutes with a crow bar and a blow torch, the odds are he will move on to an easier target to avoid being caught.

To learn more about other locking mailboxes, read more here.