Anyone else in Maple Leaf having a problem with mail theft? I remember at a Maple Leaf Community Council meeting earlier this year, this issue was brought up — but I thought I had heard they caught the main culprit.
Either they didn’t, or a copy cat has emerged.
We got a letter from the postal service about a month ago telling us they caught someone and they scanned a copy of some of the mail addressed to my household that was in the thief’s possession. Cue the scrambling to check my bank and credit card statements! All good, phew. Although just recently I received a notice that I failed to show up for jury duty — would have been nice to receive the first notice. Makes me wonder how much other mail I’m missing.
This morning, I walked outside to see that the four mailboxes outside my house were open, and the only thing left in them was coupon books/pamphlets. Looks like we have another mail thief in our hands in Maple Leaf.
If you have questions — you can reach the Seattle Postal Service office at 877-876-2455. You can also report mail theft here at the U.S. Postal Service’s website.
Want to prevent mail theft? The Pinehurst Seattle blog has some good tips on where to purchase a locking mailbox. It’s always good to first check with the postal service, though, as there are restrictions on what type of mailbox you can have. Thanks, Donna, for the reminder – Maple Leaf Ace also carries security locking mailboxes!!
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Maple Leaf Ace also carries security locking mailboxes.
I live in Greenlake and work at Mail Boss which is a family owned company in Redmond WA. The Mail Boss is the high security mailbox that is available at Maple Leaf Ace Hardware, btw.
My family’s company started making the Mail Boss locking mailbox back in 2006 after my family had our mail stolen 3 times in as many months and all the products we found at Home Depot and online were made of cheap materials and could easily be pried open. The Mail Boss is a high security locking mailbox available in curbside and wall mount options that can’t be fished by hand or easily pried open with a screwdriver. It is made of heavy gauge galvanized powder coated steel and keeps your mail and identity safe. Also can take a baseball bat no problem.
Mail theft is a growing problem across the nation but particularly in Seattle. In Greenlake our neighbors have had their mail stolen too. It is not just “one guy” who is out there doing this. Your mail is not safe just because he/she was caught. This is an ongoing and growing problem across the nation!
Most everyone uses a paper shredder to shred their sensitive documents before discarding them, but don’t think about where these documents come: in the unlocked mailbox. Research indicates that “old-fashioned” low tech methods (and not cyber crimes as is often believed) constitute the majority of identity theft cases, so the best defense is:
(1) Use a high security locking mailbox to protect incoming mail. The Mail Boss is a great option. Fort Knox and Armadillo also offer high security mailboxes.
(2) Never send sensitive mail from an unsecured mailbox; bring checks to the Post Office or better yet use online bill pay.
(3) Always shred sensitive documents (most of which come in your unlocked mailbox) before discarding them.
Hope this information helps!