Comments on: Do You Own a P.O. Box?

By: Cathy @ Chief Family Officer

Cathy @ Chief Family Officer — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:42:54 +0000

Great warning, Kristy. This kind of theft has been going on for years, but you still hear about victims. Fortunately, our mailbox is locked but if it wasn’t, I would definitely replace it with a locked one, even if it meant finding a mailbox or going to the post office to send mail. I didn’t do in-depth research but a quick look at Amazon showed me some locked mailboxes that look like regular ones – I think the mail carrier can put the mail in, but you need a key to get it out.

By: Slinky

Slinky — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:45:30 +0000

@Kristy – Good point! I can think of a couple options, but nothing very ideal. Worse case scenario, there’s a postal drop box on the driveway of my work. :)

By: Kristy

Kristy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:06:27 +0000

@ Dawn – I very rarely get checks in the mail myself. I was working on a freelance gig for a company once and they wouldn’t pay via Paypal, which I didn’t like. So I was constantly checking my mailbox in fear everyday. I prefer electronic payments all the way!

@ J – Sorry, didn’t mean to freak you out! ;) Just telling you the facts. But, if most of your stuff is electronic, then your chances of getting hosed decrease dramatically, at least from this perspective.

@ Bouncing Back Betty – Yeah, holidays are a really bad time for this, too. We had a few gift cards go missing that members purchased as gifts to be sent out. I think it’s very smart of you to utilize the PO Box for your financial stuff!

@ BillyOceansEleven – Have you ever had any problems with someone trying to break into your locked mailbox? I live in an apartment complex with the locked boxes, but that lock is so flimsy, it’s just a matter of someone ripping it off. That kind of freaks me out, so I went with the PO Box. It’s still a little more secure.

@ Thomas – Rogue tree planters, eh? Well, at least they’re helping the environment.

@ Barry – Yeah, that would turn me off of banking altogether if I had only an “option” to sign and then anyone could just take money. I’d buy a safe and keep it in the house!

@ Slinky – Yeah, I like the idea of a mail slot where the deliverer just drops it through my front door! That would be nice. And I especially like that from a Netflix perspective. But where does the outgoing mail go in those scenarios?

By: Slinky

Slinky — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:01:25 +0000

My mailbox is a locked box behind my locked apartment building’s front door. Sometimes we do leave mail for pick up there, but it’s mostly netflix, and our building only has 6 apartments, so it wouldn’t take much to find a guilty party. When I do buy a house, I’ve always said I want a mail slot. I’ll likely put one in if I have to. I hate when my mail gets crammed into a too small box and my magazines get ripped. I also don’t want to have to go outside on winter weekends to check the mail for my next movie.

By: Barry

Barry — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:41:07 +0000

We don’t use checks in this country as most of our payments are done electronically by transfer on your bank.
However we do have the option to “sign” for payment by giving your bank account #, your name and city and a signature of course.

In the interest of accepting payments online the banks now make the signature optional and thus it’s entirely possible for anybody grabbing a piece of mail here to fill in your information and have money deducted from your account.

The bank claims it’s irreversible when it’s a one time payment and there is no opting out. Fortunately for me my accountant clued me in that I do have rights and the payment is void without a signature but it’s a pretty big hassle.

In the end I keep wondering why we don’t move the entire process to some verified online form; It’s bound to be more secure that way.

To see how it could be done, have a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDEAL
Tie it to a creditcard and allow chargeback under clear rules and it would be perfect

By: thomas zeal

thomas zeal — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:41:46 +0000

Ha cheque stealers! classic. I’ll be watching out for them along with those rogue tree planters. noone’s stealing my hard earned cash this winter

By: BillyOceansEleven

BillyOceansEleven — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:09:18 +0000

I don’t have a PO box, but I do have a locking mailbox. I have never had anything happen, but I live in area of Houston close to what many would call a “ghetto”, and we get a bit more pedestrian traffic coming through than most other areas. I love the security of having a locking mailbox and the capacity is enough that I don’t even have to worry about placing mail holds when I go on vacation.

As for outgoing mail, I always drop it in a USPS mailbox or drop it in the locked maildrop at my office. Not as much because I worry about someone stealing it, but because I think my mailman is on crack and might lose it.

By: Bouncing Back Betty

Bouncing Back Betty — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:59:31 +0000

When I used to live in a bigger metropolitan city, there was a rash of thefts from our mailboxes, both incoming and outgoing mail on a regular basis. Theives would go through the mail, especially at Christmas looking for cash, gift cards, credit cards. I do have both a PO box and a street mailbox. My street mailbox is in a bank of boxes at the end of our small road. I pretty much only get my magazine subscriptions, utility bills, and other non sensative mail delivered to the box. I use the PO box for all my financial and business mailings. Since I’m gone at least three days a week, any mail sent to my street address would sit in the box on the road. Plus in the winter in rural areas, the box is fair game for the errant snow plow or someone driving by to “check it out”. I’d rather pay the yearly fee and have the peace of mind.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:06:37 +0000

okay wow, now you’re starting to freak me out! i don’t use P.O. Boxes just because i’m too lazy and don’t feel like spending the extra money. Like Dawn, most of my checks are generated through my online bank too (USAA), but a good 90% of everything goes on C/C.

if i were ever to get hosed like that though, you better believe i’d give it a second thought.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:47:43 +0000

Interesting post! I rarely write checks anymore. I use online banking almost exclusively. The only time I write a check, I am usually then handing it to the person I am paying. I don’t get many checks either. The few I get are either hand delivered or done through EFT. I do get a few reimbursement checks from companies and small survey checks, that’s about it. Still, it is certainly something to think about!