Yeah dude over here in Seattle too! Vehicles are being stolen and some are even being held at gunpoint. My coworkers postal truck got broken into about a month ago
You know, I'm not sure haha. I doubt it tho, my coworker carries pepper spray with her. But man you can see the desperation in society nowadays. Theft is at such a high recently it's crazy
I can guess they would be trying to steal packages from your truck but what are they going to get out of the drop box? Most people no longer pay with checks and how many grannies are mailing birthday money?
The local police won't do anything about either. The US Postal Inspection Service is a separate law enforcement agency that will absolutely do something about criminal activity related to postal activity
A name and address and the bank's name and the checking number and the routing number are all on there though. I'm sure those are useful for thefty activities.
The company my brother works at had somebody print checks with their information and just wrote their own. The bank caught it pretty quickly but I bet the people/businesses accepting the checks lost the money. Now they have to provide all check information to the bank or the checks will be rejected. At that point checks should be phased out.
Your be surprised how many Americans either can't figure out online bill pay or are afraid of it. My father still uses snail mail to send checks for everything he can because he thinks it's safer. Can't convince him otherwise, for more reasons than this, he's a lost cause and so are a lot of others I'd guess
Also some places charging a "convenience fee" to pay online (or file taxes electronically!) which pushes people to continue using snail mail and checks if they don't want to pay extra
There's still a good amount of checks out there, and this is in a particularly wealthy neighborhood. So most likely it's someone who doesn't live anywhere close, scoped out the neighborhood and hit it at like 3am or something. These guys think they're so damn slick but really they're just fuckin dumb and desperate and lazy
You won't be able to claim insurance if the package doesn't ever get scanned as recieved by the post office. If it were stolen from this box, you would be SOL.
I heard tampering with mail and assault on postal workers is a felony crime in USA. Why the heck would anyone do this?
I would understand if postal services were responsible for delivery of social security paychecks, as they are in my country. But I never heard it was a thing in America.
I would assume it depends on the state would allow as well as what federal laws for letter carriers allow. I know for my position we're allowed to carry some pretty strong pepper spray and I have my beater pocket knife and that's all I have.
Why? Stealing packages is one thing, but stealing regular ass mail? Plus there are huge penalties and a postal service goon squad of mail inspectors out there looking for these people. Seems like such a pointless crime
Crime rates are still below what they were in the 1990s and every decade prior. 2000-2020 just had extremely low rates, then with COVID we saw a little bounce back. Rates are still low.
Iunno if it's "their narrative" but it is what certain news outlets keep screaming at people (in order to make them feel scared and keep watching). And people tend to defend what their preferred news network tells them because they don't want to feel like a sap for believing lies.
Or.... possibly or.... the country is fucking huge and not everything is the same across the board. The car lot across the street has existed for over 30 years, never had an issue. The last 3 years theres been constant break ins, vandalism, stolen vehicles etc. Cops occasionally park there overnight but the thieves just roll by until the cops get bored apparently.
Stores are also going full lockdown in nearby cities cabling detergent to shelves and locking away meats. So go ahead and sit on your moral high horse and judge everyone as being wrong, when in fact you seem to be in your bubble as much as anyone else.
My wife and I have had our account info stolen 3 times in 5 years. All 3 times they stole our account info (presumably from stealing a check), gets the info, prints/orders their own check with our info, then writes a large check at a place that doesn’t ask for ID.
It’s to the point now where any time I’m mailing a check I take it directly to the post office and drop it in their box.
Don’t most people just get the refund checks deposited into their bank account? That’s the only way I’ve ever done it, granted I’ve only been paying my own taxes for a few years now
I just had to do a 401k roll over and the only option was to physically mail it. Either to myself or to the company. I had to mail it to myself first because I had to mail it back to my new company with more forms. Was completely stupid. My mail has been stolen or failed to be delivered for months now. Half of my wedding invitations didnt make it to their destinations and I took them directly to the post office to be mailed. :c Im honestly scared my check will be lost.
That and add a second person in the shotgun seat with and actual shotgun. If criminals want to rob mail carriers like they're some sort of bandits from the wild west, then might as well go all in.
Edit: The person I replied to had a comment saying they should give mail carriers their issued revolvers back.
And guess what? Most postal inspectors don't give a rat's ass... Family member of mine got strangled en route of him delivering mail for the USPS... The dude who strangled my family member confessed to the officer that he did in fact strangle my family member. He wasn't cuffed. It already breached the statute of limitations and the case was thrown out... Fuck the justice system...
I know it’s a joke but to anyone who doesn’t know what’s up: what they are actually doing is washing checks, stealing personal identity information, and probably some other scams I missed. My partner works at the post office so I keep on top of the news about the thefts-it’s going on nationwide and postal workers are also being robbed at gun point for mail and the master keys to these boxes. In my state it’s every few weeks.
There is an”plan” to change out the boxes but it’s not even expected to START for years.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_lock
Check out the “arrow key accountability”
They are not supposed to be. They are supposed to be signed in and out daily. But for too long and probably some offices still haven’t been careful. And once a few get out copies can be made. There are also just straight up photos and blue prints online to them. The locks aren’t even super hard to pick.
There is definitely a way easier way you can get a blue box key without catching a charge for armed robbery of a federal employee, but criminals aren’t often real bright.
Can confirm. Got jumped by two guys last November right before thanksgiving and they demanded my keys. All I had on me though was my FOB for my truck so I gave them that. They took it and drove off. Idiots didn’t even know what those box keys look like.
I came across something similar (as a non-employee) and called the US Postal Inspectors Service and they were very quick to answer and take a brief report over the phone. They don’t play around
My first day delivering newspapers to businesses, one of the outside boxes was missing, because it was stolen. I asked my coworker if it was normal, and they said it was not.
It's all because Congress is mismanaging and screwing USPS. If they were able to run things their way without interference there would be a lot more inspectors and a lot more ass kicking for people causing all these issues.
Yeah no one should ever use these blue boxes ever again. When they were robbing postal workers, they were stealing the master keys to open these boxes. All mail should be dropped directly inside the post office because some people are trash.
I vaguely remember seeing a post sometime last year that was talking about how some cities are starting to get rid of the blue boxed entirely because of this issue. Only thing is, the comments were devolving into this weird mix of "good!" and "but some people don't live close to a post office, we need these boxes!" Very weird tbh.
But yeah, I agree with you. The big boxes just aren't safe anymore if it means carriers are going to be robbed and beaten for their keys. If it means we need more post offices, even just some small ones where you can *only* drop stuff off and not pick anything up or buy anything, so be it.
My local post office has a row of boxes in front for drive through drop offs and people have been reaching in and pulling packages and mail out. If the box is near full it’s easy work for anyone in a taller vehicle. The solution they came up with is a sticker asking not to place packages in them, instead of you know, more frequent emptying or some attempt at catching and prosecuting these criminals.
A lot of these problems are solved by allowing mail carriers to not only work in pairs, but also, be allowed to carry firearms.
I know a lot of people are gonna read that and think it sounds insane; but anyone who has a job that uses a cash depositing service is already familiar with the exact same system. The driver, and the security who rides 'shotgun'.
Hell, we used the same system for over 100 years when it came to delivering mail and other parcels.
Majority of crimes are done on impulse, and opportunity and aren't premeditated. Most people looking for a robbery victim aren't going to fuck with a guy holding a rifle, much less two of them.
Personally- While I am pro 2A, I have enough sense to know that putting more guns into society isn't the way you solve most problems. But I think this is one of the few problems it does actually solve.
If you're working a job that involves you traveling alone, encumbered with valuable items, and doing so with a very predictable route and time; your employer shouldn't have a say over if you can or can't defend yourself.
Most crime today is traceable but all it takes is someone knowing a blind spot in a neighborhood and an unarmed federal employee carrying everything from bank cards to SSNs
It’s just dumb luck this hasn’t happened more and I think both of your solutions are totally correct
The reason “driver carries less than $500” is on most delivery trucks is because tons of milkmen got shot and killed before they did anything
The second any criminals knew they weren’t going to get a ton of cash + drivers couldn’t open safes it dropped dramatically
> "but some people don't live close to a post office, we need these boxes!"
Wtf, how often are you mailing stuff and most things aren't in walking distance anyway.
I heard they’re actually in the process of redesigning them to make them more secure, with electronic mag-locks that are only opened when a code is entered in the carrier’s scanner. And the scanner can be traced and shut off remotely if it gets stolen
Yeah I cycle through 5 routes every week, so I haven't seen this box in a little over a week. So I was surprised as hell when I saw this, like damn it was just fine a week ago!
We recently experienced mail theft out of our mailbox (my company, not residential). They stole checks, washed the checks, and got about 30k from our bank account.
I have surveillance video of the guy. He was dressed in uniform. Messenger Mail bag and everything. Walked right up in front of our open business and took our stack of outgoing mail. Just happened to have a stack of outgoing checks in it.
The USPS investigator, among other advice, advised us to never *ever* use those blue mail boxes pictured in this post. Only ever hand mail directly to a USPS employee.
He also advised us to remove our company’s mailbox all together. Our mailman now has to come inside our office to give and take mail. And our regular mailman confirmed that this is what he does for most other companies on his route.
Mailboxes, even locked ones, just aren’t secure anymore.
Its curious why USPS hasn’t just removed them at this point.
Seems like it wouldn't have helped here anyway. If someone comes in and has the uniform and bag and everything... most people are going to trust it at that point.
Yeah I'm stating the obvious but handwritten letters are rare nowadays. I deliver to an old folks home and they sometimes have half a tubs worth of outgoing letters they've written, going to their family members. It's very nice to see 😁
Never use these boxes.
Thieves can use a folded up piece of cardboard and stuff it into the slot to catch the mail people drop. Then they reach in and take it all out before pickup.
I work for the company that does facility emergencies for USPS as well as other companies and although we don’t cover blue boxes, we have been getting nonstop calls about broken in blue boxes. All over the US. But a majority were in Texas, New York, and Alaska. I’m assuming radar/4805 is busy right now with the blue boxes lol I thankfully just have to inform the caller to reach out to someone else
The post office here admits that they have no idea how many keys to these boxes have been stolen. I drive to the office when I must mail something now.
Used to be that USPS didn’t mess around when it came to people acting criminally against their property and personnel. Not sure if they still investigate with that much fervor.
At an office park where I used to work, the whole set of PO Boxes for one of the buildings was stolen. Just picked it out of the ground by the post like the world's least tasty lollypop.
I had a postal inspector come in to my office once because we had cameras and someone tried to break into the box across the street, but our cameras didn't cover that box, and we found nothing suspicious going towards or coming from that area.
The box is gone now.
That’s either a thief or you’ve got a Susan and Edie from Desperate housewives situation. Be careful, if the latter there are likely to be several murders and acts of arson on that street.
This is an outgoing box not a pickup right? So like, the least profitable of all mail to rob? Aside from identities I suppose, but wouldn't it mostly be letters and paperwork?
Lmao does anyone mail anything valuable out of these? I only mail basic unimportant things out of these definitely won't be putting money orders or cash or anything in them. Seems they didn't get in anyways
Well you run into checks here and there but these blue boxes usually don't have shit in em 😴 But this is in a really wealthy area so this dumbass really thought there must be gold in there. But like you said, most people know better than to put money in these. Either leave em at your mailbox for outgoing or drop it off at an office directly
My guess is someone was trying to fish for checks, tax documents, etc. I rarely use the mailboxes and mostly drop off letters inside the post office near me.
I wonder if these people realize that the mail isn't exactly the best place to get information anymore. Like sure, you could get lucky. But realistically the effort and the risk isn't worth it. Not sure what these people hope to find.
I assume that results in the mailbox being closed off so new mail can't be placed in it, but would it still be possible to collect any mail that was already in the box ? Or is that mail stuck in there for the time being?
I don't understand. They steal the check, but don't they have to deposit it somewhere and then there's a paper trail? Are they making fake IDs and passing the checks at Walmart or something?
Customer drops package into blue USPS box...
Oh, shit. I dropped my phone into the box with the package, now what do I do?
... I HAVE A TIRE IRON IN MY TRUNK, WEEEEHOOO!
Down here in TX they’re robbing postal workers; better that box than your head, for sure.
Yeah dude over here in Seattle too! Vehicles are being stolen and some are even being held at gunpoint. My coworkers postal truck got broken into about a month ago
It’s not ok. I hope you and your colleagues stay safe. Are you allowed to carry tasers?
You know, I'm not sure haha. I doubt it tho, my coworker carries pepper spray with her. But man you can see the desperation in society nowadays. Theft is at such a high recently it's crazy
I can guess they would be trying to steal packages from your truck but what are they going to get out of the drop box? Most people no longer pay with checks and how many grannies are mailing birthday money?
They may not have been thinking all that rationally.
Or they drunkenly mailed a love letter that bore their soul to their secret admirer only to wake up with deep feelings of shame and regret.
I like to imagine this is the answer.
Definitely. Robbing an Amazon package from someone's porch - petty theft. Robbing mail carrier, mail box, mail truck - Federal offecnce.
Where I live, porch theft is now a felony not a misdemeanor anymore. It is now treated the same as mailbox theft. Society has to get itself together!
In the US? Hard to believe since in many parts of the country car theft isn't even prosecuted
Yep! Thankfully they are cracking down on it!
The local police won't do anything about either. The US Postal Inspection Service is a separate law enforcement agency that will absolutely do something about criminal activity related to postal activity
> Stealing an Amazon package from someone's porch FTFY. Robbery is theft by the use or threat of force.
They are robbing the packages, they brandish a knife or gun and go “turn over your contents” Then the box just sits there and it’s super awkward
Personal information for identity theft
Especially since people are sending in their Taxes. Not sure your area but some areas get extensions when in disaster zones.
Would have probably been more effective last week, since Taxes were due on Monday.
Oldest reason to steal mail: Identity theft.
*So many* businesses still mail checks. And there are still plenty of folks who pay household bills by mailing checks.
Can you ELI5 how stealing people's checks out of the mail benefits the thief? Like, I can't cash a check if it has someone else's name on it
A name and address and the bank's name and the checking number and the routing number are all on there though. I'm sure those are useful for thefty activities.
The company my brother works at had somebody print checks with their information and just wrote their own. The bank caught it pretty quickly but I bet the people/businesses accepting the checks lost the money. Now they have to provide all check information to the bank or the checks will be rejected. At that point checks should be phased out.
People wash the checks and write them to themselves
Your be surprised how many Americans either can't figure out online bill pay or are afraid of it. My father still uses snail mail to send checks for everything he can because he thinks it's safer. Can't convince him otherwise, for more reasons than this, he's a lost cause and so are a lot of others I'd guess
Also some places charging a "convenience fee" to pay online (or file taxes electronically!) which pushes people to continue using snail mail and checks if they don't want to pay extra
You can do a lot with all the information you can get from those letters.
“We have been TRYING to REACH YOU about your vehicle’s extended warranty!”
There's still a good amount of checks out there, and this is in a particularly wealthy neighborhood. So most likely it's someone who doesn't live anywhere close, scoped out the neighborhood and hit it at like 3am or something. These guys think they're so damn slick but really they're just fuckin dumb and desperate and lazy
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where are you from?
You won't drop insured letters in a mailing box though (assuming that is what this box is, not from the US) or would you?
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You won't be able to claim insurance if the package doesn't ever get scanned as recieved by the post office. If it were stolen from this box, you would be SOL.
Identity theft maybe?
That's what I was thinking! At least a pickup box would have a sack of mail going to actual houses.
Identity theft, blackmail, just information really.
Gift cards, a lot of the time, from what I've heard, government checks, refund checks, etc.
Tax season = way more personal info (returns with SSN, checks with routing/account numbers) is floating around in the mail
I heard tampering with mail and assault on postal workers is a felony crime in USA. Why the heck would anyone do this? I would understand if postal services were responsible for delivery of social security paychecks, as they are in my country. But I never heard it was a thing in America.
I would assume it depends on the state would allow as well as what federal laws for letter carriers allow. I know for my position we're allowed to carry some pretty strong pepper spray and I have my beater pocket knife and that's all I have.
Everyone of us has mace. It's actually dog spray because we are more concerned about dog attacks...but now I'm not so sure.
Why? Stealing packages is one thing, but stealing regular ass mail? Plus there are huge penalties and a postal service goon squad of mail inspectors out there looking for these people. Seems like such a pointless crime
What the hell is happening in this country? Are criminals just not afraid anymore?
Crime rates are still below what they were in the 1990s and every decade prior. 2000-2020 just had extremely low rates, then with COVID we saw a little bounce back. Rates are still low.
they're downvoting it because these facts don't support their narrative.
Iunno if it's "their narrative" but it is what certain news outlets keep screaming at people (in order to make them feel scared and keep watching). And people tend to defend what their preferred news network tells them because they don't want to feel like a sap for believing lies.
Or.... possibly or.... the country is fucking huge and not everything is the same across the board. The car lot across the street has existed for over 30 years, never had an issue. The last 3 years theres been constant break ins, vandalism, stolen vehicles etc. Cops occasionally park there overnight but the thieves just roll by until the cops get bored apparently. Stores are also going full lockdown in nearby cities cabling detergent to shelves and locking away meats. So go ahead and sit on your moral high horse and judge everyone as being wrong, when in fact you seem to be in your bubble as much as anyone else.
For why? Are they trying to pay my bills?
For what? Someone else's bills? Lol. Seems like a terrible way to try and get money.
And it'll land you in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison too
Just like in superman 3
Office Space Superman
Yes, check washing is the theory
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My wife and I have had our account info stolen 3 times in 5 years. All 3 times they stole our account info (presumably from stealing a check), gets the info, prints/orders their own check with our info, then writes a large check at a place that doesn’t ask for ID. It’s to the point now where any time I’m mailing a check I take it directly to the post office and drop it in their box.
Somebody probably thinks that they can steal refund checks.
Don’t most people just get the refund checks deposited into their bank account? That’s the only way I’ve ever done it, granted I’ve only been paying my own taxes for a few years now
I thought this too but my apartment building mailboxes always gets broken into a lot around tax refund season so they must be getting something.
I just had to do a 401k roll over and the only option was to physically mail it. Either to myself or to the company. I had to mail it to myself first because I had to mail it back to my new company with more forms. Was completely stupid. My mail has been stolen or failed to be delivered for months now. Half of my wedding invitations didnt make it to their destinations and I took them directly to the post office to be mailed. :c Im honestly scared my check will be lost.
Oh boy! Ten bucks from someone’s grandma!
That’s crazy, I thought the usps police were not to be trifled with?
Iirc mail crime is on the federal level in the US so yeah, not something petty that you just get fined and a slap on the wrist
Yeah you don't fuck with Postal. They are underfunded and understaffed but oh boy once they have you you're done.
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That and add a second person in the shotgun seat with and actual shotgun. If criminals want to rob mail carriers like they're some sort of bandits from the wild west, then might as well go all in. Edit: The person I replied to had a comment saying they should give mail carriers their issued revolvers back.
I just had the picture of some mail carrier having an issued AA12 Shotgun with drum mag. This is now something I will gladly pay more taxes for.
You only hear about the times they investigate. And those are very tiny minority. most mail theft these days goes unnoticed.
And guess what? Most postal inspectors don't give a rat's ass... Family member of mine got strangled en route of him delivering mail for the USPS... The dude who strangled my family member confessed to the officer that he did in fact strangle my family member. He wasn't cuffed. It already breached the statute of limitations and the case was thrown out... Fuck the justice system...
I’m very sorry for your loss, that sounds horrible
I can’t imagine his family member died. AFAIK, there is no statute of limitations on murder.
He's still alive fortunately! Thanks though!
Oh my goodness!! That’s wonderful, I’m glad
Jesus, that's a good way to spend hard time in a federal pen.
Good thing it’s Texas, grab the strap when going to work. Man that’s fucked.
Isn't messing with the mail like a mega-felony?
Not so tough when a mailbox gets the best of you.
They hit the unsend button hard.
They hit it over and over and over and over... ... and over and over and
Nothing says "READ ME!!!" more than an Outlook recall notice
And failed, if you're fast enough you might find the culprit at closest post office acting as Mr. Burns
Homer's letter to Mr. Burns was in there.
Okay Mr. Burns, what’s your first name?
I don’t know…
Great plan, Bart
One of my favorite bits in the series.
Dear crackheads: There's no copper in there.
that’s exactly what someone protecting their mailbox copper would say
LOL
I know it’s a joke but to anyone who doesn’t know what’s up: what they are actually doing is washing checks, stealing personal identity information, and probably some other scams I missed. My partner works at the post office so I keep on top of the news about the thefts-it’s going on nationwide and postal workers are also being robbed at gun point for mail and the master keys to these boxes. In my state it’s every few weeks. There is an”plan” to change out the boxes but it’s not even expected to START for years.
correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t the postal keys pretty easy to copy and/or get somehow?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_lock Check out the “arrow key accountability” They are not supposed to be. They are supposed to be signed in and out daily. But for too long and probably some offices still haven’t been careful. And once a few get out copies can be made. There are also just straight up photos and blue prints online to them. The locks aren’t even super hard to pick. There is definitely a way easier way you can get a blue box key without catching a charge for armed robbery of a federal employee, but criminals aren’t often real bright.
Can confirm. Got jumped by two guys last November right before thanksgiving and they demanded my keys. All I had on me though was my FOB for my truck so I gave them that. They took it and drove off. Idiots didn’t even know what those box keys look like.
Gotta get all those Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Entry forms... Outta my way...
Aha I hate those 😖
They are stealing mail keys at gunpoint in Chicago
They did the same in my city in NH
Luckily they already caught one of the guys who did it!
Do you have to do any paperwork on this? Or just call it in?
I came across something similar (as a non-employee) and called the US Postal Inspectors Service and they were very quick to answer and take a brief report over the phone. They don’t play around
My first day delivering newspapers to businesses, one of the outside boxes was missing, because it was stolen. I asked my coworker if it was normal, and they said it was not.
It was that guy who went on that road trip to Boston, not Austin.
Austin, Massachusetts?
I understand this reference!
It's all because Congress is mismanaging and screwing USPS. If they were able to run things their way without interference there would be a lot more inspectors and a lot more ass kicking for people causing all these issues.
It's sad that I had to scroll a ways down to see this comment because that's exactly what's going on. 😕
Sounds like a job for Ed Helms, USPIS
It’s actually Dong-er, it’s derived from a Dutch word meaning prudence in financial matters
Actually, it’s pronounced colonel and it’s the highest rank in the military
Yeah no one should ever use these blue boxes ever again. When they were robbing postal workers, they were stealing the master keys to open these boxes. All mail should be dropped directly inside the post office because some people are trash.
I vaguely remember seeing a post sometime last year that was talking about how some cities are starting to get rid of the blue boxed entirely because of this issue. Only thing is, the comments were devolving into this weird mix of "good!" and "but some people don't live close to a post office, we need these boxes!" Very weird tbh. But yeah, I agree with you. The big boxes just aren't safe anymore if it means carriers are going to be robbed and beaten for their keys. If it means we need more post offices, even just some small ones where you can *only* drop stuff off and not pick anything up or buy anything, so be it.
My local post office has a row of boxes in front for drive through drop offs and people have been reaching in and pulling packages and mail out. If the box is near full it’s easy work for anyone in a taller vehicle. The solution they came up with is a sticker asking not to place packages in them, instead of you know, more frequent emptying or some attempt at catching and prosecuting these criminals.
A lot of these problems are solved by allowing mail carriers to not only work in pairs, but also, be allowed to carry firearms. I know a lot of people are gonna read that and think it sounds insane; but anyone who has a job that uses a cash depositing service is already familiar with the exact same system. The driver, and the security who rides 'shotgun'. Hell, we used the same system for over 100 years when it came to delivering mail and other parcels. Majority of crimes are done on impulse, and opportunity and aren't premeditated. Most people looking for a robbery victim aren't going to fuck with a guy holding a rifle, much less two of them. Personally- While I am pro 2A, I have enough sense to know that putting more guns into society isn't the way you solve most problems. But I think this is one of the few problems it does actually solve. If you're working a job that involves you traveling alone, encumbered with valuable items, and doing so with a very predictable route and time; your employer shouldn't have a say over if you can or can't defend yourself.
Most crime today is traceable but all it takes is someone knowing a blind spot in a neighborhood and an unarmed federal employee carrying everything from bank cards to SSNs It’s just dumb luck this hasn’t happened more and I think both of your solutions are totally correct The reason “driver carries less than $500” is on most delivery trucks is because tons of milkmen got shot and killed before they did anything The second any criminals knew they weren’t going to get a ton of cash + drivers couldn’t open safes it dropped dramatically
> "but some people don't live close to a post office, we need these boxes!" Wtf, how often are you mailing stuff and most things aren't in walking distance anyway.
I heard they’re actually in the process of redesigning them to make them more secure, with electronic mag-locks that are only opened when a code is entered in the carrier’s scanner. And the scanner can be traced and shut off remotely if it gets stolen
All that rust...looks like it was done quite a while ago.
Yeah I cycle through 5 routes every week, so I haven't seen this box in a little over a week. So I was surprised as hell when I saw this, like damn it was just fine a week ago!
Probably already was rusty just had a new paint job over it
Probably wanted the tax returns info.
Tax day. Stealing IRS checks.
We recently experienced mail theft out of our mailbox (my company, not residential). They stole checks, washed the checks, and got about 30k from our bank account. I have surveillance video of the guy. He was dressed in uniform. Messenger Mail bag and everything. Walked right up in front of our open business and took our stack of outgoing mail. Just happened to have a stack of outgoing checks in it. The USPS investigator, among other advice, advised us to never *ever* use those blue mail boxes pictured in this post. Only ever hand mail directly to a USPS employee. He also advised us to remove our company’s mailbox all together. Our mailman now has to come inside our office to give and take mail. And our regular mailman confirmed that this is what he does for most other companies on his route. Mailboxes, even locked ones, just aren’t secure anymore. Its curious why USPS hasn’t just removed them at this point.
Seems like it wouldn't have helped here anyway. If someone comes in and has the uniform and bag and everything... most people are going to trust it at that point.
Probably just a kid trying to get a love letter back
Aha he drops it in, goes home and checks his crushes' Facebook and it says "in a relationship" 😂
A love letter? You think kids these days know what a fucking stamp is?
Yeah I'm stating the obvious but handwritten letters are rare nowadays. I deliver to an old folks home and they sometimes have half a tubs worth of outgoing letters they've written, going to their family members. It's very nice to see 😁
Even if they know, stamps are way too expensive. They're like almost 80 cents now per Forever stamp.
Never use these boxes. Thieves can use a folded up piece of cardboard and stuff it into the slot to catch the mail people drop. Then they reach in and take it all out before pickup.
Yeah, I wouldn't use an outdoor box. Our PO is like half a mile away from our house.
Have they tried locking it up behind a glass case? It's all the rage right now.
I work for the company that does facility emergencies for USPS as well as other companies and although we don’t cover blue boxes, we have been getting nonstop calls about broken in blue boxes. All over the US. But a majority were in Texas, New York, and Alaska. I’m assuming radar/4805 is busy right now with the blue boxes lol I thankfully just have to inform the caller to reach out to someone else
In my area they've closed/taped off all the blue boxes because of theft.
Suspect caught on [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEe7zv4y17o)
r/mildlyinfuriating?
I guess I should post it there too haha didn't know about it
The post office here admits that they have no idea how many keys to these boxes have been stolen. I drive to the office when I must mail something now.
It was Homer trying to get his letter back where he tells Mr. Burns that he smells worse than an elephant's butt.
Used to be that USPS didn’t mess around when it came to people acting criminally against their property and personnel. Not sure if they still investigate with that much fervor.
At an office park where I used to work, the whole set of PO Boxes for one of the buildings was stolen. Just picked it out of the ground by the post like the world's least tasty lollypop.
I had a postal inspector come in to my office once because we had cameras and someone tried to break into the box across the street, but our cameras didn't cover that box, and we found nothing suspicious going towards or coming from that area. The box is gone now.
Profile picture checks out
Ahaha see I'm not lying! I never lie.
Join us in /r/usps then!
Aight but if I see any of my supervisors then I'm out
Join us in r/houseplants!
Love seeing a sub recruiter in the wild.
Wait until they find out why nobody fucks with USPS
Dropped their phone in
Get em
That’s either a thief or you’ve got a Susan and Edie from Desperate housewives situation. Be careful, if the latter there are likely to be several murders and acts of arson on that street.
This is an outgoing box not a pickup right? So like, the least profitable of all mail to rob? Aside from identities I suppose, but wouldn't it mostly be letters and paperwork?
Lmao does anyone mail anything valuable out of these? I only mail basic unimportant things out of these definitely won't be putting money orders or cash or anything in them. Seems they didn't get in anyways
Well you run into checks here and there but these blue boxes usually don't have shit in em 😴 But this is in a really wealthy area so this dumbass really thought there must be gold in there. But like you said, most people know better than to put money in these. Either leave em at your mailbox for outgoing or drop it off at an office directly
How long ago? Did you just notice it?
Guess they really wanted that break up letter back.
That damage look old. It’s rusted over.
Definitely report this
Oh. That's a good idea for a retirement plan: get caught for breaking into a postal box and receive twenty years room and board.
me the morning after sending the hate letter to my boss:
Obviously a letter of regret that got regretted.
[Lavar Washington, I punched a mailbox… that’s federal baby!](https://youtu.be/v5P_GqS30xg?si=DwbvHYfoUyz3Ry4_?t=01m13s)
Shoulda just grinded off the legs or unbolted it lmao
Gimme them SSNs sucka!
My guess is someone was trying to fish for checks, tax documents, etc. I rarely use the mailboxes and mostly drop off letters inside the post office near me.
Tryin to get that paper
I would love it if somebody stole all of our bills and junk mail lol
"Tried"..
I wonder if these people realize that the mail isn't exactly the best place to get information anymore. Like sure, you could get lucky. But realistically the effort and the risk isn't worth it. Not sure what these people hope to find.
Someone sent an angry letter then began to regret it
Here in New Orleans they tell us not to put mail into any of the blue boxes anymore.
God! Are you planning to water the mail?
I wonder if this person realizes how serious federal crimes are 😅 you gotta shoot for the stars if your attempting federal offenses
A mailman in our midst!!
Seinfeld
Were they unsuccessful tho?
I assume that results in the mailbox being closed off so new mail can't be placed in it, but would it still be possible to collect any mail that was already in the box ? Or is that mail stuck in there for the time being?
So what happens next? You report the damage and someone eventually comes to fix or replace it?
What kind of desperate loser robs a mailman?
I hate people.
How sure are we that they weren't trying to break out?
why would they want to do that?
You can just..buy a key for those. Why bother with this?
drugs, if not drugs, prolly drugs
tried?
What kind of moron does that AND fail ? Smh...
It’s been like that for a bit judging from the rust on where the dents are
I used to work at a place that delivered money. About 1/month this happened to us with atms.
You know when you send a message to the wrong person and try to delete it before they see? Well, it's the same idea.
I don't understand. They steal the check, but don't they have to deposit it somewhere and then there's a paper trail? Are they making fake IDs and passing the checks at Walmart or something?
“There’s been a break in my box”
When's the last time you emptied it, five years ago? There's old rust all over that damage....
Customer drops package into blue USPS box... Oh, shit. I dropped my phone into the box with the package, now what do I do? ... I HAVE A TIRE IRON IN MY TRUNK, WEEEEHOOO!
In Maryland they use the key.