Is Mail Theft Getting Worse? What the Latest USPS Data Says

If your mailbox has ever been pried open, or you have come home to find it empty when you were expecting a delivery, you already know that sinking feeling. And you are far from alone. Mail theft in the United States has grown from a nuisance into a full-blown crisis, and the numbers from the USPS Office of Inspector General confirm what a lot of homeowners have suspected for years: it is getting worse. Much worse.

At Fort Knox Mailbox, we have been building high-security locking mailboxes since 1994, back when mail theft was still considered rare. Today, every piece of data we see tells the same story: standard mailboxes are not built for the world we live in now.

Mail Theft by the Numbers: What USPS Reports Actually Show

High-Volume Theft Attacks Are Skyrocketing

The USPS Office of Inspector General recorded over 52,000 high-volume mail theft attacks in fiscal year 2024. That is a 156% increase since FY2019 and a staggering 2,238% increase since FY2010. These are not one-off incidents where someone grabs a birthday card out of a box. High-volume attacks target entire neighborhoods, apartment clusters, and collection boxes at once.

The Postal Service is already on track for another 50,000-plus attacks in FY2025, according to the same OIG reporting. The trend line has not flattened. It is still climbing.

Package Theft Is a Billion-Dollar Problem

Package theft is a separate but closely related problem, and the scale is hard to wrap your head around. Security.org estimates that thieves stole $8.2 billion worth of packages over the past year. The average stolen package was worth about $222. SafeWise's 2025 report puts the total number of stolen packages at 104 million, and one in four Americans, roughly 64 million people, say they have had a package stolen at some point.

That $8.2 billion figure does not include the downstream costs: the hours spent on the phone with customer service, the replacement orders, the fraud claims, or the stress of wondering whether your next delivery will disappear too.

Why Mail Theft Has Gotten So Much Worse

More Packages, More Targets

Americans receive more deliveries now than at any other point in history. The USPS alone delivered 6.2 billion packages in 2023, and that does not count UPS, FedEx, or Amazon. Every package sitting on a porch or stuffed into an unlocked mailbox is an easy target. Thieves have figured this out, and they are working accordingly.

Low Prosecution Rates

Mail theft is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. Section 1708, punishable by up to five years in prison. In practice, prosecutions are rare. The USPS Postal Inspection Service is underfunded and overwhelmed. FedWeek has reported that mail theft has become a "national crisis" while the Postal Inspection Service is effectively "missing in action." When the risk of getting caught is low, the incentive to steal is high.

Check Fraud and Identity Theft Fuel the Problem

A stolen letter is not just a lost piece of mail anymore. Criminals are specifically targeting mailboxes for checks, tax documents, and financial statements they can use to commit identity theft. In just three months of 2024, more than $485 million in stolen U.S. Treasury checks were catalogued for sale online. Financial institutions filed over 682,000 Suspicious Activity Reports tied to check fraud that year, a 139% increase from 2020.

Your mailbox is no longer just holding letters. It is holding your financial identity, and a standard unlocked box does nothing to protect it.

Which Areas Are Hit the Hardest?

Mail and package theft is not limited to cities. According to SafeWise, the states with the highest package theft rates include Kentucky, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Alaska. Rural routes where mailboxes sit far from the house and close to the road are especially vulnerable. Thieves can drive up, open the box, and be gone before anyone notices.

Suburban neighborhoods are not much safer. Cluster mailbox units (CBUs) in new developments are frequently targeted, and porch piracy remains a daily occurrence in residential areas across the country.

What a Standard Mailbox Actually Offers (Hint: Almost Nothing)

Most residential mailboxes in America are made of thin sheet metal or plastic. They are not locked. They are not reinforced. A standard mailbox can be opened by hand, pried with a screwdriver, or ripped off its post in seconds. The USPS requires that mail carriers have access to your box, but it does not require that your mail be protected once it is delivered.

That gap between delivery and retrieval, the hours your mail sits unattended, is where theft happens. If your mailbox does not lock, your mail is exposed to anyone who walks or drives by.

How to Protect Your Mail Before You Become a Statistic

There are some steps you can take immediately: sign up for USPS Informed Delivery to track incoming mail, retrieve your mail promptly, and avoid mailing outgoing checks from your own mailbox. But the single most effective thing you can do is upgrade to a locking mailbox built from materials that cannot be easily defeated.

Fort Knox Mailboxes are built from 1/4-inch solid steel, fully welded at every seam. No rivets. No plastic components. No thin sheet metal. The Fortress, our best-selling model, features a locking door with a separate outgoing mail section. The Vacationer is built on the same platform with six extra inches of depth, designed to hold three to four weeks of mail for homeowners who travel. Every unit is handmade in Grants Pass, Oregon, and has been since 1994.

We are Fort Knox. All the rest are just mailboxes. If you are ready to stop worrying about what is happening at your curb, compare our mailbox options and find out why Fort Knox is the last mailbox you will ever need.

Frequently Asked Questions

How common is mail theft in the United States?

Very common. The USPS OIG recorded over 52,000 high-volume mail theft attacks in FY2024, and one in four Americans reports having had a package stolen. Between standard mail theft and porch piracy, an estimated 104 million packages were stolen in 2024 alone.

What is the most stolen item from mailboxes?

Checks and financial documents are the most commonly targeted items because they can be used for identity theft and check fraud. In three months of 2024, over $485 million in stolen Treasury checks appeared for sale online. Packages are also a top target, with the average stolen package valued at $222.

Does a locking mailbox actually prevent mail theft?

A locking mailbox eliminates casual theft, which accounts for the vast majority of incidents. Most mail thieves are looking for easy, unlocked targets. A 1/4-inch steel locking mailbox like The Fortress cannot be pried, bent, or broken open with common tools, which makes your mail significantly safer than it would be in a standard box.

Is mail theft a federal crime?

Yes. Under 18 U.S.C. Section 1708, stealing mail from any mailbox is a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison. However, prosecution rates remain low relative to the volume of incidents, which is one reason the problem continues to grow.

What states have the highest mail theft rates?

According to SafeWise's 2025 report, Kentucky, North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Alaska have the highest per-capita rates of package theft. However, mail theft is a nationwide problem that affects urban, suburban, and rural areas alike.

References

USPS Office of Inspector General: U.S. Postal Service's Response to Mail Theft

Security.org: 2025 Package Theft Report

FedWeek: Mail Theft Has Become a National Crisis

Bridge Legal: Mail Theft Statistics and Facts in the United States

SafeWise via Capital One Shopping: Package Theft Statistics 2025