USPS warns against using Blue Dropboxes

[Lee B]

"The Postal Service explained in a press release that their blue bins have become hot spots for criminals looking to steal residents' identities as well as their mailed checks. The crimes tend to happen at specific times and on specific days. The agency stated, "The biggest variable enticing these criminals to steal are customers depositing mail into blue collection boxes after the last collection of the day or during Sundays and federal holidays."

So what should customers do? The USPS advises, "If customers simply used retail service or inside wall drop slots to send their U.S. Mail, instead of depositing it to sit outside overnight or through the weekend, blue collection boxes would not be as enticing after business hours to mail thieves for identity theft and check-washing schemes."

My largest client had 8 or 9 checks stolen from a Blue Dropbox during the middle of the afternoon of a weekday about 2 months ago.

The USPS has removed the box even though it's in front of a small retail complex by a very busy highway.

Two of the checks were washed, but fortunately their bank caught them when the perps tried to cash them.

[BrewOne]

Apparently the USPS was using one key to open every Blue Box in a certain area. Hopefully they have corrected this, but it could make a difference to use the mail slot inside a Post Office. 

I have a secure (locked) mailbox--keeps me from being able to put mail out for pickup, which turns out to be a good thing.

[Lee B]

Several Postal Employees in the Portland area have been robbed recently just to get USPS keys.

[GLJEANNE]

I stopped using them a few years ago, when the one outside our post office got robbed in Dec.  Now I take everything inside to mail.

[mcbreck]

The one outside my office was hit this winter. I don't really use it anymore.

[Medlin Software, Dennis]

Thankfully my wife shops online almost daily. Meaning I get almost daily notices something is in our cluster box. Our old cluster box was not as secure and was pried open a couple of years ago. There were some w2 forms lost by our neighbors. So check your incoming daily as well. For outgoing important, go the post office and hand it to a clerk. Mine has a drop cart anyone can reach, but I don’t use it as anyone can reach it…

We also have a P.O. Box we use for incoming items which we don’t want to lose. Home cluster is now for junk and packages. 

[Lion EA]

https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm

[schirallicpa]

A local town had it's blue box set on fire.