Holiday

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.

Posted Updated

By
Sarah Krueger
, WRAL Durham reporter
DURHAM, N.C. — 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.

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.

Avoid sending cash by mail. Checks and money orders are safer than cash and can be canceled if they are lost, stolen or fail to arrive.
Place a card inside the package that contains both the delivery and return addresses. This ensures the safe return of an item that could not be delivered should the mailing label become damaged or fall off.
Always use a return address. If the mailed item is a gift, include both “to” and “from” information on only one side of the package.
Schedule a free package pickup. Your carrier will pick up any outbound packages when he or she makes your regular mail delivery.
Don’t leave delivered mail and packages unattended. Mail and packages left in mailboxes or on front porches can be temptation to thieves.
Consider an alternate shipping address. Have packages delivered to a neighbor is are home during the day or get packages delivered at work.
Customize delivery. On usps.com, you can denote if you want a package left under the rug, on the back porch or some other more secure location.
Ship using Hold for Pickup. Ship gifts to the closest post office, and let recipients pick them up at their convenience.
Put a hold on deliveries if you go out of town. Letters and packages will be held securely at your post office until you return.

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