Ways to Keep Your Packages Safe

Here are five important tips:

  1. Don’t leave your delivered mail and packages unattended. Just as you would not leave your wallets and purses on the front seat of an unlocked car overnight, mail and packages should not be left sitting in mailboxes or on front porches for any length of time.
  2. Going out of town? Hold your mail at your local Post Office. If you plan on taking a trip or know you won’t be able to check your mail for a few days, consider using the Hold Mail service on usps.com. Letters and packages will be held securely at your Post Office until you pick them up or request they be delivered to your home.
  3. Plan ahead. Ship using Hold for Pickup. When shipping packages, you can choose the Hold for Pickup option, and the recipients can collect their packages at their local Post Office. If you are expecting a package, you can redirect it to your local Post Office by selecting Hold for Pickup using Intercept a Package under Track & Manageon usps.com.
  4. Customize the delivery. If you know the package will not fit in your mailbox and you won’t be home to receive it, you can authorize the carrier to leave it in a specified location. Visit usps.com, enter the trackingnumber in Track a Package, and select Delivery Instructions.
  5. Secure the shipment using USPS Special ServicesSignature Confirmation helps ensure the package ends up in the right hands by requiring a signature at the time of delivery. For your most valuable packages, you can opt for Registered Mail service. Registered Mailreceives special handling from the time it’s mailed until the time it’s delivered, with documentation every step of the way.