Peak Periods for Mailbox Theft – Tax Season, Grad Season & Christmas

Expecting a tax refund?  Your check from the US Treasury may not make it to you.  Residential mailbox thieves throughout the United States seek out information on US Treasury tax refund check delivery dates and may know more about when your refund is due to arrive in your curbside mailbox than you do.  Mailbox theft is rather easy once delivery dates are uncovered. Mailbox thieves drive through targeted areas posing as delivery personnel and remove the easily identifiable tax refund checks from all those who do not have a locking residential mailbox.

And it’s quite profitable.  US tax refund amounts can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.  Targeted mailbox theft is a windfall for thieves – easy money just sitting in a defenseless curbside mailbox.  And since no other check is as respected and as guaranteed as one written by our nation’s treasurer, stolen tax return checks are easy to cash at local check cashing shops.

“These thieves are planners.  After tax refund season, they focus on the first two weeks of June – the traditional time when weddings and graduations are at their peak and many residential mailboxes contain graduation and wedding gift cards and checks.  The next prime time for mailbox theft is the three weeks before Christmas where they repeat the process again:  opening curbside mailboxes full of holiday gifts, gift cards, and checks from grandma,” notes a national criminologist.

The key to thwarting residential mailbox theft is simple:  the installation of a secure, locking residential mailbox.  These locking mailboxes keep your mail both safe and private.  With the simple addition of a lock, thieves move on to easier targets.

You can purchase a secure locking mailbox in a variety of colors and finishes and add instant curb appeal to your residence.  You can find a locking residential mailbox in a wide variety of applications including a post mount locking mailbox, which is surface mounted on top of a curbside mailbox post; a wall mounted locking mailbox that is usually mounted to a wall near a door; a pedestal locking mailbox that is often located near the curb; and a column mount locking mailbox and drop box that add even extra security for larger packages.

Decorative locking mailboxes are also available and can be purchased with unique mailbox designs and finishes such as the ultra modern Ecco or Knobloch brands, the variety of Victorian-style mailboxes, hand painted mailbox designs such as the hummingbird locking mailbox, and more.

For homeowner associations wishing to protect entire neighborhoods and thus increase property values by adding secure locking mailboxes, quantity discounts and multi-mount options are also available.  For businesses and apartment property owners, commercial locking mailboxes are also available.

Categorized in: Locking Mailboxes