Mail Theft

The Association has been notified of incidents reported by residents in which mail has been stolen from their mailbox. This is a popular time of year for mail theft, as W-2s and other financial information is being mailed out. Below are some tips to prevent mail theft:

• Hand outgoing mail to a carrier or drop it off at a post office or secured mailbox.
• Have the post office hold your mail while you’re on vacation.
• Retrieve your mail daily, closest to the normal time your carrier delivers.
• Don’t put cash in the mail and don’t receive cash in the mail.
• Consider getting a PO box if you receive a lot of physical checks.
• Notify the post office if you move so you don’t continue to receive mail in a vacant box.

One helpful thing that owners can do is sign up for Informed Delivery with the United States Postal Service. Informed Delivery through USPS allows you to digitally preview your mail and manage your packages scheduled to arrive. Informed Delivery allows you to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mail pieces and track packages in one convenient location. You will receive an email each day from USPS showing you what is scheduled to arrive that day, so you will know if any items are missing when you go to retrieve them. Please visit informeddelivery.usps.com for more information.

Another way to prevent mailbox theft is to install a locking mailbox. You can install a locking mailbox on the existing wood post, or you and your neighbors can get together to coordinate the installation of a locking cluster type mailbox to replace the individual mailboxes. An example of this is on the cul-de-sac at Oak Hollow Road. Please keep in mind that all mailboxes must be approved by the United States Postal Service and must be approved in advance by the Association’s Architectural Review Committee. The aesthetic of the mailboxes must be similar to the appearance of others in the community in order to be considered.