Postal Mailboxes Being Sealed Due To Mail Theft In Columbus

I saw this article online:


https://www.wtvm.com/2022/07/08/pos...ft-columbus/


I guess I will think twice about mailing from a drop box, especially in a more remote location.

I live in a city of 100,000+ and the PO has a drop-box out by the street (a busy main drag with tons of traffic) with a 'drive-thru lane. Drive in, drop your mail in it, drive off. I really don't think it is all that secure, so I tend to pull into the parking lot, park, walk in and drop my mail into the "in-house" drop box. The in-house box has one of those secure doors - while the door is open to drop in your mail, it blocks access to the inside of the box. UNLIKE the one by the road. Plus, I would expect anyone trying to 'jimmy' the in-house box would make enough commotion that the postal clerks would notice the hubbub. Yeah, I know. Don't tell me I am naive for that. I don't consider it naivete. I consider it wishful thinking. Anyway, an inside drop-box is likely more secure than something out by the street. For something VERY important, I will hand it directly to a clerk. In and out. Done.

PS: I also have a PO Box in that Post Office, so I always kill 2 birds with one stone when I have something to mail.

Apparently this type of activity has risen dramatically lately and is tied to the theft of Arrow Keys during armed robberies of postal carriers. Arrow Keys access box locks in entire zip codes and their is a large market for the keys themselves amongst criminals.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-m...olen-checks/

Here the thieves' interest is in the pillar boxes, not the contents

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-engla...olk-60075415

All my mail goes inside the post office in the lobby drop box. Especially when mailing stamps I don't want them sitting outside all day in the humidity.

Also to keep the porch pirates away, I have a box at my local UPS store. It's worth the investment.

We all take in each other's parcels, so piracy isn't really a problem. The odd courier drops things off on doorsteps, but not too often.