Mailbox Issue Gets Sticky

By DAYNA DRUM | Reporter

Palisadians trying to use the blue drop-off mailboxes on the side of the street might encounter a stickier-than-usual situation.

In a letter submitted to the editor in the Palisadian-Post, Palisadian Warren Cereghino expressed concern over finding a sticky substance on the inside tray of a mailbox, where he found a piece of mail already caught in the trap.

“Citizens using mailboxes in the Palisades need to know that the substance is in many of our mailboxes and that they need to make sure their mail gets to the bottom of the box,” Cereghino wrote.

Previous Palisades postmaster Charles Hearne (Hearne moved to the Culver City Post Office in June) explained that thieves will place a strip of this sticky substance, which he referred to as “glue sticks,” on the inside of mailboxes to catch incoming mail and retrieve identity information.

This method is known as “Fishing.”

Fishing has been an ongoing issue in the Palisades for the past year and a half, Hearne told the Post. In response to the problem, the boxes were modified so thieves are unable to fish the letters out, but this does not stop individuals from still trying, Hearne said.

The Palisades Post Office is aware of the problem and has a maintenance team responding three or four times a week to issues that are reported, said Yavonne Smith, officer in charge.

This method is widely used across the country, Smith said, and some cities have even removed the street mailboxes entirely.

Fishing has been a common method of identity theft for a long time, but has only recently been introduced in the Palisades.

While there does not appear to be too much of a risk due to the tamper-proof boxes, occasionally an attempt will be successful, Hearne said.

Smith warns mail patrons to be cautious and to make sure their letters make it all the way down to the bottom of the box.

Residents can also bring their mail to the drop-off boxes inside the post office if they feel safer doing that.

Anyone who notices suspicious activity or some of the sticky substance in the mailboxes is encouraged to call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.