A new version of the “big blue postal box” is designed to combat a relatively new scam, but it’s delivering headaches to those who use them.
The scam is called mail-fishing. Criminals tie a string to something sticky, lower it into the big blue boxes, and pull out mail. They’re usually looking for checks and gift cards.
The Postal Service is now replacing its old boxes with “no fishing” versions.
The drive-thru mailboxes at the Anderson Township Post Office in Ohio have lengthy lines, but some of these postal customers have a bone to pick with whoever designed them.
The old boxes had extended receivers that made it easy to deposit mail, like the ones still in use at the Madeira Post Office.
The new ones don’t have the extension. They don’t even have a pull-down flap, just a tamper-proof slot.