The most effective ways to prevent mail theft are, in order: collect mail every day and promptly after delivery; never leave outgoing mail with the flag up overnight; sign up for USPS Informed Delivery so you know what should arrive; ask for a hold when you travel; and, if theft is a pattern on your street, install a locking mailbox with a 16–18 gauge steel body and a slot large enough for flats. Reduce what's worth stealing by switching financial statements and checks to electronic delivery, and report any theft to the Postal Inspection Service so the pattern is on record.
Key facts
- Report mail theft to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report or 877-876-2455.
- USPS's own prevention list: remove mail daily, don't leave outgoing mail overnight, use Informed Delivery, request holds, deposit outgoing mail at a post office or hand it to the carrier.
- In fiscal 2022 USPS logged 412 robberies of letter carriers and 38,500 high-volume mail theft incidents from collection boxes; the agency launched Project Safe Delivery in 2023 in response.
- Mail theft is a federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 1708) carrying up to five years' imprisonment.
- A locking mailbox only helps if the steel around the lock is thick enough not to be pried.
Why is mail stolen?
For checks (which are "washed" and rewritten), credit and debit cards, identity documents, prescription medications, gift cards and small electronics, and for the information on the mail itself — enough to file a change of address or open an account. Check washing in particular has driven much of the recent attention to mail theft from USPS and its Inspector General.
Habits that prevent most theft
- Collect mail daily, soon after delivery. Thieves follow the carrier. Informed Delivery's email tells you when there's something to collect.
- Don't raise the flag overnight. A raised flag advertises outgoing mail — often a check. Hand outgoing mail to the carrier, drop it at the post office, or use a collection box before its last pickup.
- Use Informed Delivery. Free from USPS; you get scans of incoming letters, so you know when something's missing.
- Hold mail when away. USPS holds for 3–30 days at no charge. Or have a neighbor collect it.
- Go paperless for anything valuable. Direct deposit, e-statements, electronic tax filing. Fewer checks in the box means less to steal.
- Know your carrier's timing. If you can't collect promptly, a locking box is the answer.
- Watch for change-of-address fraud. USPS now sends a validation letter to the old address and requires ID for in-person changes; act on any letter you didn't request.
Does a locking mailbox prevent mail theft?
It prevents the common kind — someone opening the door and taking what's there. It doesn't prevent a thief from taking the whole box (a good post and mounting matter), fishing through an oversized slot, or prying a thin box open. A locking box is worth it when:
- theft has happened to you or neighbors;
- you receive checks, cards, medications or documents at home;
- you're away for stretches;
- the box is out of sight of the house.
What makes one actually secure is covered in Locking vs. Non-Locking Mailboxes: 16–18 gauge body, stainless or steel latch, anti-fish geometry, a real cam lock, and a slot big enough for flats so the carrier can actually deliver.
What about outgoing mail?
The flag-up mailbox is the single easiest target, because it advertises a check. Options: hand outgoing mail to the carrier when you see them; drop it at a post office or in a blue collection box before the last pickup of the day (USPS is replacing older boxes with high-security versions and electronic locks); pay bills electronically; or use a mail slot into the house for carriers who walk the route.
Physical measures beyond the box
- Lighting. A motion light near the mailbox or entry.
- Camera. A doorbell camera covering the box or a small camera on the post. Footage matters for reports.
- Post and mounting. Bolt the box to a steel post with tamper-resistant fasteners; thieves take whole boxes off loose 4×4 tops.
- Cluster box units. If your neighborhood uses CBUs, report broken locks immediately; the master (arrow) locks were a major theft vector and USPS has been replacing 49,000 of them with electronic locks.
What to do if your mail is stolen
- Report to the Postal Inspection Service: uspis.gov/report or 877-876-2455.
- File a local police report (needed for bank and credit disputes).
- If checks were stolen, contact the bank to stop payment and watch for washed checks.
- If cards or documents were stolen, place a fraud alert or freeze with the credit bureaus and notify the issuer.
- Check USPS for any change of address you didn't file.
- Tell neighbors; theft is usually a street-level pattern.
Where Modbox fits
Modbox makes two locking models built to the spec above: the Aerobox curbside (16- and 18-gauge galvannealed steel, 16-gauge stainless adjustable latch, four opening sizes from ½" to 2") and the Courier wall-mounted (20-gauge body with a 16-gauge wrap and the same latch). If theft isn't a problem where you live, the non-locking Modbox, Vista and Horizon are the same steel without the lock.
Frequently asked questions
Is it a federal crime to steal mail? Yes. Mail theft is a federal offense under 18 U.S.C. § 1708, punishable by fines and up to five years in prison.
Will USPS replace stolen mail? No, but reporting helps investigators connect incidents, and the sender can often reissue a check or card.
Does Informed Delivery show packages? It shows letter-size mail scans and package tracking for items with USPS tracking.
How do I stop someone from stealing my packages? Different problem: use a parcel locker, have packages held at a USPS location or a carrier pickup point, require signature, or use a camera. A standard locking mailbox doesn't hold parcels.
Sources
- USPS Newsroom, "USPS, Postal Inspection Service Roll Out Expanded Crime Prevention Measures" (May 12, 2023) — https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2023/0512-usps-postal-inspection-service-roll-out-expanded-measures-to-crack-down-on-mail-theft.htm
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service, report mail theft — https://www.uspis.gov/report
- USPS Office of Inspector General, Mail Theft focus area — https://www.uspsoig.gov/focus-areas/focus-on/mail-theft
- 18 U.S.C. § 1708, Theft or receipt of stolen mail matter — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1708