Mail theft complaints top 800,000 as security concerns mount
“We have a mail theft epidemic,” said Frank Albergo, national president of the Postal Police Officers Association.
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Public confidence in the U.S. mail system is being tested as mail theft complaints continue to climb locally and nationwide, with more than 800,000 complaints filed across the country between 2023 and 2025.
The surge in thefts has left many consumers worried about the security of their mail, particularly checks and other valuable items that can be stolen and fraudulently cashed by criminals. Victims often lose thousands of dollars in a single incident.
“We have a mail theft epidemic,” said Frank Albergo, national president of the Postal Police Officers Association.
Albergo points to a major policy change in 2020, when postal police officers were reassigned from patrolling postal routes to protecting postal facilities. He argues that the shift left mail carriers, collection boxes and delivery routes more vulnerable to criminal activity.
“How do you have a crime prevention strategy without using your uniformed police officers?” Albergo said. “Their model is to investigate crime after the fact.”
Mail theft schemes have also increasingly involved the robbery of postal workers for so-called “arrow keys,” master keys that can open nearly every outdoor mailbox within a ZIP code. Once stolen, the keys provide thieves with broad access to incoming and outgoing mail.
Authorities say arrow keys have become valuable commodities on the black market, where they are sometimes sold or counterfeited.
In one local case, a key used to access mailboxes in the North Babylon area was stolen in 2023. No arrests have been made in connection with the theft.
The U.S. Postal Service requires employees to follow a four-step accountability process for tracking arrow keys. However, an investigation by the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General found that those procedures are not always followed. In some instances, keys were reportedly left unsecured and in plain view.
The findings have raised concerns among customers who rely on the mail to send checks, financial documents and other sensitive materials.
