Read the full story here Web Link posted Monday, July 25, 2016, 10:04 AM
Town Square
Atherton police looking for mail thieves
Original post made on Jul 25, 2016
Read the full story here Web Link posted Monday, July 25, 2016, 10:04 AM
Comments (9)
Posted by resident
a resident of Menlo Park: Fair Oaks
on Jul 25, 2016 at 12:23 pm
a resident of Menlo Park: Fair Oaks
on Jul 25, 2016 at 12:23 pm
Can we get more information on the location? That'd help in collecting relevant evidence.
Posted by pearl
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 1:31 pm
pearl is a registered user.
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 1:31 pm
pearl is a registered user.
Or, you can rent a USPS post office box where your mail will be safely held until you pick it up. I've had a USPS post office box since 1975, when we were having trouble in our neighborhood with someone swiping mail. A post office box is a good investment. Plus, when writing to people, as opposed to giving them your residence address, you can just give them your post office box address.
Posted by Lindenwood resident
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Jul 25, 2016 at 1:51 pm
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Jul 25, 2016 at 1:51 pm
You can also switch your mailbox to one that has a lock. We recently did this as mail had been stolen from a nearby street less than a year ago. It was easy to install ourselves and fairly inexpensive compared to the mess that happens with identity theft.
Posted by pearl
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 1:57 pm
pearl is a registered user.
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 1:57 pm
pearl is a registered user.
@Lindenwood resident:
Great idea if you don't mind giving your residence address to strangers, and lots cheaper than a POB, too, which smallest USPS POB now rents for $50/six months or $100/year.
Posted by Lindenwood resident
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Jul 25, 2016 at 4:42 pm
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Jul 25, 2016 at 4:42 pm
Just to add to my earlier post: if you're interested in switching your mailbox, there is a decent selection of locking mailboxes available through Amazon. We also needed a torque wrench to tighten the bolts inside the new mailbox that go into our existing mailbox pole.
Posted by pearl
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 4:51 pm
pearl is a registered user.
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 4:51 pm
pearl is a registered user.
@Lindenwood resident:
If you install a locking mailbox, how does the USPS open it? Do you give them a key? Or, do they have a master key that opens all locked boxes?
Posted by Felton Gables, Too
a resident of Menlo Park: Felton Gables
on Jul 25, 2016 at 5:03 pm
a resident of Menlo Park: Felton Gables
on Jul 25, 2016 at 5:03 pm
Hopefully, Atherton police will coordinate with Menlo Park. Houses on Encinal and Lennox have been hit by mail thieves on multiple occasions over the past couple months.
Posted by Reader
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 7:35 pm
a resident of another community
on Jul 25, 2016 at 7:35 pm
@pearl:
These locking mailboxes have a door which the mail carrier uses. There's usually some internal mechanism or baffle that prevents would-be thieves from fishing, similar to the blue collection boxes.
Posted by Menlo Voter.
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Jul 25, 2016 at 7:36 pm
Menlo Voter. is a registered user.
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Jul 25, 2016 at 7:36 pm
Menlo Voter. is a registered user.
"If you install a locking mailbox, how does the USPS open it? Do you give them a key? Or, do they have a master key that opens all locked boxes?"
No pearl, the locking mailbox has a slot the mail carrier puts the mail in. You can't open the box without a key to
get the mail.
Here's just one: Web Link
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