Avoid Using Blue Mailboxes During the Holidays, USPS Warns

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has advised that you should not use the large, blue collection boxes if you are mailing holiday cards or gifts.

Reports of mail fraud and theft have been on the rise year-round, and the crimes tend to peak during the holiday season. This is what to know.

Why you should avoid blue mailboxes during the holiday season

A group of criminals across the country are using the internet and social media to coordinate their attacks on post office collection boxes. People don't want to have access to your mail

Before the last collection of the day, be sure to use the blue collection boxes because your mail won't be sitting in there overnight. The time should be on the front of the box The mail would be in there all day on Saturday and all day on Sunday.

How to safely send and receive mail this holiday season

To avoid the blue collection boxes, here are a few other tips from experts at the USPS to help ensure your mail ends up in the right hands.

1. “One of the best things that you can do is hand it off directly to your postal carrier, obviously, then it’s already in their hands, and it’s into the system,” United States Postal Inspector Paul Shade told KY3.
2. “The other option would be to take it directly into the post office,” Shade added. “And obviously, it would have to be during regular business hours, but that’s the most secure way to protect your mail.”
3. Never send cash in the mail. If it’s stolen, consider it gone.
4. If you expect to receive something of value in the mail, let the sender know when (and if) you’ve received it. Similarly, if you’re sending someone something valuable, (partially) ruin the surprise and let them know that a package is on its way.
5. Sign up for USPS Informed Delivery, so you know when your mail is arriving.

If you want to report mail theft or fraud, you can either call the United States Postal Inspection Service at (877)-876-2455 or fill out a form on their website.