Mail Theft Is Skyrocketing—Here’s the Best Way to Prevent Your Important Items from Being Stolen
Your grandma always remembers your birthday (gotta love grandmas!) and faithfully sends a card with a little cash tucked inside. But this year? Nada. No card. No cash. No sparkly sticker-covered envelope. Did Grandma forget? (Never!) Did it get lost in the mail? Or … did some lowlife snatch it right out of your mailbox and is now using your birthday money to buy gas station snacks?
You may have been hit by a mail thief—or as they’re known in the wild, porch pirates—and they’re becoming both more prolific and more bold in their crimes. In 2024, more than 58 million people in the U.S. reported stolen packages, adding up to a jaw-dropping $13 billion in losses.
Mail theft has exploded in recent years, thanks to a perfect storm of online-shopping overload and a sharp rise in check-fraud scams. It’s gotten so bad that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been sounding the alarm.
“Your mail security is of paramount importance for the Postal Service, and we take it very seriously,” says Philip Bogenberger, a USPS spokesperson and communications specialist. “Mail theft is a federal crime, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service, investigates thousands of crimes each year involving the mail.”
So what can you do to make sure your birthday cash, Amazon orders and rent check don’t end up in the wrong hands? Read on for the best ways to protect your mail—both incoming and outgoing.
Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more safety news, interesting facts, humor, cleaning, travel, tech and etiquette all week long.
How common is mail theft?
The short answer: It’s very common—and getting worse. It’s tough to pin down exact numbers, partly because mail theft can happen in so many ways and often goes unreported. Still, recent stats paint a pretty alarming picture:
-
In 2023, there were more than 250,000 complaints of mail theft, a massive jump from fewer than 60,000 in 2018, according to a CBS News investigation.
-
A Capital One survey found that 1 in 7 Americans had a package stolen in 2022.
-
Of those victims, 33% had it happen more than once.
-
The USPS reported 38,535 incidents of high-volume mail theft in 2022—a 70% increase from 2019.
The bottom line? Mail theft isn’t rare—it’s rampant. And it’s not just annoying. It can lead to stolen checks and packages, fraud and even identity theft. Time to lock things down.
What’s the best way to prevent incoming mail from being stolen?
The No. 1 tip? Sign up for Informed Delivery, Bogenberger says. “The USPS Informed Delivery service alerts customers when mail and packages are coming to their homes, allowing them to plan for their arrival,” he says. That way, you’ll know what to expect—and can quickly report if something goes missing.
What is informed delivery, exactly? It’s a free service from the USPS that sends you a daily email previewing your mail and packages scheduled to arrive soon. You can see images of your incoming letter-sized mail (grayscale, address side only) and track and manage your package deliveries through the USPS site.
Here are a few more USPS-approved tips to protect your incoming mail:
-
Pick up your mail promptly. Don’t let mail sit in your box overnight.
-
Install a locking mailbox.
-
Use a P.O. Box.
-
Ask that important packages be held at the post office, and pick them up personally.
-
Ask a trusted neighbor to collect your mail if you’re going out of town.
-
Report missing mail to the USPS right away.
-
Report suspicious activity around mailboxes to local law enforcement.
What’s the best way to prevent outgoing mail from being stolen?
Outgoing mail can be just as vulnerable—especially if it contains checks or personal information. The safest strategy? Skip the home mailbox altogether. “If customers feel more comfortable mailing important items at a post office, they can opt to mail their letters at any post office,” Bogenberger says.
Other USPS-approved tips to protect your outgoing mail:
-
Use an official USPS blue collection box (but only before the day’s final pickup—don’t leave outgoing mail overnight, as thieves have been known to steal the entire contents of blue collection boxes).
-
Don’t put the red flag up on your home mailbox if you have one. While it may be convenient, it’s also a bright signal to thieves that there’s something inside.
-
Install a locking mailbox.
-
Use a P.O. Box.
-
Don’t mail cash or checks.
-
Request a signature confirmation for valuable packages.
Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Philip Bogenberger, USPS communications specialist; email interview, March 21, 2025
- Security.org: “2024 Package Theft Annual Report and Statistics”
- FinCen.gov: “FinCEN Alert on Nationwide Surge in Mail Theft-Related Check Fraud Schemes Targeting the U.S. Mail”
- USPS: “Informed delivery”
- USPIS: “Mail theft”
- Capital One: “Package theft statistics”
- USPIS: “Project Safe Delivery: Combatting mail theft and letter carrier robberies strategy”
The post Mail Theft Is Skyrocketing—Here’s the Best Way to Prevent Your Important Items from Being Stolen appeared first on Reader's Digest.
from Reader's Digest https://ift.tt/b3kGYsJ
Comments
Post a Comment