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For over 60 years the United States Postal Services (USPS) has been a leading company in terms of mail delivery. According to USPS CEO Megan Brennan, over 425 million mail deliveries are made daily whether through greeting cards or paid bills. “As the holiday draws near, we expect this number to increase by the hundred thousands”, said Brennan.
Recently, however, reports of mail fraud and theft have increased exponentially, leading the company to provide cautions against using these blue mailboxes, especially during the holiday season. “groups of criminals across the country are using the internet and social media to coordinate strategic targeting of post office collection boxes,” says USPS co-founder Patrick Donahoe. “If you do opt to use the blue collection boxes, be sure to do so before the last collection of the day, so your mail isn’t sitting in there overnight”.
In total, over 40 million dollars have been stolen due to mail theft, 40% of which have occurred over the weekend. One such case in 2021 involved using fingerprints and identifications on the postal packages to gain consumer’s information, leading to further scams. The USPS simply advises to stop sending cash in the mail altogether. “If cash is seen in the mail, consider it gone”.
Other recommendations according to inspector Paul Shade, include sending mail directly to the office or postal carrier, especially if one is local. “The best time, of course is during business hours in the afternoon”, says Shade. “It may sound inconvenient, but these days this is the best way to protect your mail, especially for the holidays”.
