Secure Letterbox/Flap - Identity Theft

have your mail stopped at the sorting office and collect on saturday mornings.

RT

Thanks for that - it is one of my options, which I may well do - or I could have it redirected to an alternative address. However, My experience of instructions to the Royal Mail is that they do not always follow them. It's also a PIA if you are either expecting a particular item of post, or if there is none.

I would like to try and prevent it at source if I can as, I need to take steps to solve the problem for the other tenants when the other flats are let.

I hear what you're saying about the post office not following instructions, 've had similar experiences with them in the past. your only option may be to install your own solid steel locking leterbox this company do some very stylish stainless letterboxes

RT

A sideways approach....

Get a PO box and collect it from the delivery office (this is different from the sorting office in many cases, and may be nearer and easier). Costs about a pound a week.

You can ask for mail to be held for that particular address, but it isn't a specific service as far as I know. It seems to be a bit unreliable, and depends on the particular postman on duty.

In article , Richard Faulkner writes

Fix a couple of L-shaped plates behind the flap to reduce the depth to less than finger size or certainly less than hand knuckle size.

| | /|| | / ||___| / | / |_______ / / plates flap / _______ / | / | / | ___ / || | || | | |

Plates could be Ali but will need to be larger then the slot width and well fixed at the sides, not just top and bottom, in order to resist being bent out of the way.

The higher the slot the greater the distance between probing fingers and the mail, wont stop use of wire/tools tho' but will hopefully discourage the casual thief.

How's that?

When you have a PO Box number as your address, certain organisations naturally will not deal with you. Fraudsters use PO Boxes liberally. Although anyone has the right to know the name and address of the holder of an any PO Box number. Few people know that.

You also have the right to have a bank account in another name. As long as the account leads back to you it is fine. I'm not sure if a bank has to give the real name of the holder on request. I think they don't have to. Again, fraudsters use this facility liberally. A PO Box number can raise alarm while a bank account as a front cannot. Britain is a fraudsters paradise.

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I guess you would know. I have not observed any problems except when peope send parcels which may or may not be delivered by Royal Mail.

Actually, it's pretty widely known.

You are certainly right about using PO Box number and the suspicion that this can raise.

However as to someone's right to have a bank account in another name, I would be extremely surprised if any bank entertained this, unless you had documents identifying you as the named person. For instance, you are entitled to change your name and have a passport issued in the new name.

Obviously on Usenet, you can readily change your name.....IMM, Dr Evil etc. But this is not going to work at your local bank!

Hi,

How about a cover with a Yale lock over the letterboxes. This could be released in the evening after people have collected their mail and then closed by the postman in the morning when the letters are delivered.

Or have a switch on the cover which activates a loud buzzer, to alert people it has been opened, which may deter a potential thief.

Or have each letterbox feeding a chute if there is space.

Anyway with a carefully placed CCTV camera you may be able to get some ID on who is stealing the mail, esp used in conjunction with the second option.

cheers, Pete.

add a strip of wood (full door thickness) in the gap to halve its height

Insert large headed bolts, one either side, to restrict the flap opening.

Make cutouts in the boxes and put a sloped floor in each box (with cadr etc) so letters fall into another container. Said container could be a sack that lets the letters drop to almost floor level.

Seal up the flaps and provide a bell push, labelled 'postman press bell'

Put a locking steel mailbox on the outside, you empty it daily.

Put up a sign 'smile, youre on camera'

etc etc

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

It is perfectly possible to have two bank accounts in two different names. My partner has exactly this - though one is in her (former) married name (which is what she usually uses) and the other in her otherwise unused maiden name. The latter was only opened a year or two ago. The bank did want some documentary evidence of this and that. (Is this what you meant about the documents identifying you as the named person?) I doubt that I would express it as any form of 'right' to do this.

It isn't.

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I think you missed off the razor blades ;-)

In message , Rod Hewitt writes

I that dIMM meant any old name you choose, rather than a maiden name which you would have some documentary evidence for. Money laundering law requirements I guess.

AIUI the money laundering stuff just wants you to be able to prove you really are who you say you are. The bank just wants to be pretty sure that they or the authorities will be able to find you if the need arises. What gets printed in the cheque book or what name the account will accept payments in is seperate and much less controlled.

Hi Richard,

What do you mean by normal letterbox flap? I'm working on something. maybe I can help.

Regards

Julio

Richard Faulkner Wrote:

-- Julio

Can you make a narrower slit and fasten it inside the existing slot?

Or put one bigger door over all the flaps, with a yale lock on it, leave it open in the morning and ask the postie to slam it shut when he's popped the mail in.

If there are multiple deliveries or postie comes before anyone's up in the morning, put an electric lock release on the flap with a trades timeclock, as used on door entry systems.

A CCTV camera might also be a deterrent.

Owain

sure, you can do that

-- Julio