Like most people, small business owner Heidi Sweet always thought that blue mail collection boxes offered by the United States Postal Service were safe and secure.
However, Sweet encountered a big problem regarding the collection boxes just a few weeks ago.
She mailed checks to a vendor, dropping them in a collection box outside the Niles Post Office. Sweet later discovered that the checks never made it to their intended destination.
Sweet said the checks were ultimately stolen and endorsed by a third party. One of the checks was for nearly $10,000.
“You feel violated – you are robbed,” she said. “I mailed my son a small gift; it was stolen as well.”
According to Frank Albergo, head of the Postal Police Officers Association, the blue collection boxes continue to be a target for thieves. Albergo supports the removal of the boxes.
“The blue collection boxes are being hit over and over again. Postal customers need to walk into the post office and mail their letters. Of course it’s inconvenient, but at this point, the Inspection Service cannot guarantee the security of the mail when in those blue boxes. Blue boxes have been a slice of Americana which unfortunately can no longer be trusted.”
Local
Sweet told NBC 5 that her days of using the blue collection boxes are over, adding that she believes the boxes should be taken out of service.
Police in Naperville and Niles advise residents who plan on mailing checks or any other valuables to use the mail drop locations inside the post office instead of the blue mailboxes.
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