Many people find it convenient to leave their outgoing mail in their mailbox. This is not a good idea if you have any identifying information on the papers inside, or if you are mailing checks. People have been known to take your mail, open it, and get into your checking account, or use your bank account, Social Security, or other identifying information to steal your identity.
For safety's sake, deposit that type of mail in a Post Office mailbox.
Source: Heard on the radio
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I don't write/mail checks any more, but this is good advice for those who do. Crooks know all the angles. We have new residents in our city who scour the highways in tow trucks. If they find cars parked with the absent owners gone looking for roadside assistance, they will tow the cars to their own back yards and strip them down for parts.
And if you have mail stolen or your mailbox vandalized, do not expect any help from the USPS.
I had banking statements stolen from my mail box. A few days later, my mailbox (technically government property) was ripped down, bent out of shape and thrown into my driveway.
When I reported this to the postmaster, he wrote in an email to me, 'The USPS does not get involved in neighborly disputes'.
Later, while researching mail theft, I found there are some very stiff penalties for stealing mail or even just tampering with it.
I also learned that only very rarely will the USPS intervene when there has been mail theft.
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