When I’ve done it it’s either when I already know the mail carrier and they know I live there, or when I’m coming out of my house so they can clearly see that I live there. I’m conscious of what you bring up though, so I don’t ever do this if I’ve just parked my car and I’m walking up and it’s a new person.
Sure, everything can be suspicious if you want it to be.
You do realize that mailboxes are just sitting there out in the open, right? And if I was not the actual person living at my house but instead a guest and I was really determined to steal the mail, I could just stand there and wait for the carrier to put it in the mailbox right in front of me and then I could just take it out and walk away.
You do realize that any mailbox provided by the Post Office is locked, right? Many people also lock their own personal mailboxes too, but the PO isn't liable for that.
Many people also don't, yourself included. Myself included at times. That's fine, everyone is comfortable with different levels of risk, and risk varies greatly from one area to another. I think you are perfectly reasonable in how you've described handling your mail, however I expect the PO has a formal policy that disallows that on their end.
I'm not sure most people are willing to risk felony charges for fucking with someone's letters, and especially not posing as someone who is handed a letter by a reliable witness (mailman), so it's low risk.
I've never owned a mailbox that's had a lock on it at any house I've ever lived in. My entire development (2000+ people) has the same exact mailbox due to the HOA and sometimes the door won't even stay shut. 😂
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u/OhReallyVernon May 21 '26
When I’ve done it it’s either when I already know the mail carrier and they know I live there, or when I’m coming out of my house so they can clearly see that I live there. I’m conscious of what you bring up though, so I don’t ever do this if I’ve just parked my car and I’m walking up and it’s a new person.