Damaged mailboxes a reminder: Ship smart, make sure holiday gifts arrive intact
As the holiday shopping and shipping season got into full swing Friday, at least two blue United States Postal Service mailboxes in north Durham sat wrapped in plastic. At a shopping mall at the intersection of Latta Road and North Roxboro Street and another outside the Eno Valley Station Post Office on Milton Road, the boxes were unavailable for use.
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Ruthann Robinson noticed as she headed into the post office.
"I thought, 'Gee. Maybe there was a leak, and it’s raining, and they’re protecting the mail,'" she said.
Several area residents told WRAL News that postal service employees said the boxes had been broken into. The USPS wraps the mailboxes after they've been damaged or tampered with.
"I think it’s a sign of the times. It’s happening all over," Robinson said. "At least no one’s hurt, that’s the only good thing I can say about it."
Robinson said she is careful to handle transactions at the window, with a postal service employee.
"I mail all my bills. I still do it the old-fashioned way. I write a check, and I mail it every month," she said.
Margaret Mulligan has used the streetside box to mail packages and letters. The recent damage has her re-thinking that.
"Anything that I mail, I’m going to mail in the post office from now on," she said.
While tampering with the mail is a federal offense, no official representative of the USPS wanted to talk about what happened to the Durham boxes.
Giving or getting, follow these tips to assure safe holiday package delivery
Online, the USPS offers tips for safe shipping and receiving this holiday season.
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