We just got this note from Mary, about someone stealing their outgoing mail.
Thought I’d drop a line about outgoing mail stolen from our mailbox last night–principally *all* our addressed and stamped Christmas cards, complete with personal notes to my loved ones. My husband put them out for the letter carrier last night before bed (we live at 68th and Phinney) and they were gone by the time we got up in the morning. Someone is clearly going through looking for money inside (they won’t find any). Aaargh! I’m trying to maintain a sense of humor about this, but there is something deeply disturbing about picturing our holiday newsletter, card w/picture of my children, etc, being pawed through by some lowlife.
Note to neighbors: do not put outgoing mail out for the letter carriers! Like everything else around our homes, it is being watched.
18 responses so far ↓
1 sezdog // Dec 22, 2009 at 11:37 am
I’m so sorry about your cards. Sadly outgoing mail theft has been a problem long enough around us, I always drop mail in a mail box. We had a neighbor’s netflix return get stolen in broad daylight. The thief was confronted and didn’t even care.
Btw, it’s getting harder to find a mailbox because the postal service is removing ones that don’t get enough usage.
2 Neighbor // Dec 22, 2009 at 11:39 am
Isn’t there one at 65th and Phinney?
3 sezdog // Dec 22, 2009 at 11:56 am
It’s not that there aren’t any, but, for example, the one at 85th & 3rd was removed as was the one at 80th & 8th.
4 Paul // Dec 22, 2009 at 12:21 pm
And be careful for deliveries too. We suspect that some presents mailed a week+ ago were stolen from our porch. Fingers crossed.
5 john walker // Dec 22, 2009 at 12:23 pm
i would never put outgoing mail in my home box and raise the flag. just kiss that stuff goodbye. it ain’t 1955 anymore folks.
6 great scott // Dec 22, 2009 at 12:44 pm
the mail terrorists have truly won.
7 Aaaarrrggh // Dec 22, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Hey Paul,
We had a package prowler, complete with wheelbarrow, near the cnr of 76th and 6th NW. Are you anywhere near there? Wrote about it on the forum.
8 Stupid Hippie // Dec 22, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I blame George Bush!
9 Paul // Dec 22, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Hey Aaaarrgghh–I’m actually on 70th and 10th to pretty close.
That’s amazing–a freaking wheelbarrow. Where’s a cop when you need one?
10 outside the box // Dec 22, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I agree with JohnWalker…I WATCHED a punk come up my steps, snag my mail, get in car and drive off (yes….with me trying to catch up in my car…lost him of course). Our mail was credit card pmt (with number on the statement top) and Home equity pmt (also with acct #). Had to change ALL sorts of things..including checking acct #, and get with all the places that do a monthly auto withdrawal. Nightmare. DON’T leave mail out…lock your car (and turn alarm ON if you have one) and be sensible! Also don’t drink and drive…I followed a guy last week who was drinking a bottle of booze as he pulled out of liquor store…all the way to his apartment across from PNA. Mid day..damn!
11 nigel // Dec 22, 2009 at 5:00 pm
My outgoing Netflix was stolen 2 weeks ago on a Saturday morning between 9 am 11:30 a.m. I reported it to the postmaster and Netflix was very gracious, but FYI, there isn’t a mailbox on 85th and 3rd, but there IS one by the front doors of Fred Meyer by the coin-op hobby horse. I am putting my mail in the big blue boxes now exclusively.
12 Trix // Dec 22, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Doesn’t the post office on Greenwood have a blue box? If not, why not?
13 mike // Dec 22, 2009 at 5:12 pm
also had a package stolen off our porch on 82nd. it was the kids big present. we were lucky that they are resending it. hopefully we can dispute the charges.
14 john walker // Dec 22, 2009 at 5:42 pm
the greenwood post office has a nice blue box. i had a check stolen from the person i sent it to, over in kirkland. the $95 check was crudely changed to $950 and some crackhead chick tried to cash it at a BofA in shoreline. luckily the teller caught it. they had previously taken her ID and thumb print before they denied her though. these people are a few bulbs short of a pack.
15 Whopper // Dec 22, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Do Whopper’s favorite thug-smacking trick: take a box, fill half with peanuts, place 3 cocked, whopper-sized rat traps on peanuts. Fill the box with rest of peanuts, tape shut and leave on your porch.
Hopefully these POS will loose a couple of fingers for Christmas.
16 greenwoodmomma // Dec 23, 2009 at 9:06 am
where i came from pre-seattle, there were a LOT more mailboxes for outgoing mail, and the mail was delivered to us through our front doors (almost everyone had slots in our doors). same in the UK. maybe usps is going to have to re-think some stuff now that mail/identity theft is such a rampant problem.
17 Broadviewist // Dec 23, 2009 at 10:19 am
Someone posted to the GAIN Broadview group this week that they spotted a green Jeep or Land Rover type car in front of some of their neighbors’ mailboxes, and found out later that they were probably mail thieves. It was two blond women driving the Jeep. Unfortunately, the person didn’t get the license plate number, but now we’re all keeping an eye out for this car.
18 Julie // Dec 23, 2009 at 11:00 am
Where my sister lives, a little to the north of us, they have locked mail boxes for everyone on the street. Seems like a good idea. I had a locked box of my own but it was too small for the local junk mail and so the delivery person just put everything on my porch bench instead of in the box. Hint, I don’t care if the junk mail is stolen.
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