Catching Mail Thieves

[fiddlefaddle 0]

It all started a few months ago.

A package I was tracking showed up as delivered, so I go downstairs check my mail and it wasn't there.

Called USPS and went through the loop for a couple of days, basically they say they delivered it to correct address.

Every couple of weeks, this keeps happening and the frequency of the thefts keep rising as days go by.

I'm so paranoid about these thefts that when I have a delivery coming in on the same day I am home, I just jump to the window every time I hear a truck or the sound of a gate opening.

That's no longer an option since I have my windows close now so I can have my AC on.

This past week, I had 6 shipments coming in. All but two were received by me. All were being tracked and all show that they have been delivered.

I've had enough of losing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise and items to thieves and tired of being paranoid.

 

So I'm going to set up a camera outside on my door. I'm hoping that it deters these thieves and if not, then I can catch these poopheads.

I've been looking at wireless cameras since there's no practical way of connecting a wired camera.

I haven't found any camera that shows their battery life. I want a camera that can last at least 12 hours, just enough for me to get back from work. I don't mind changing the batteries every day.

I'm looking for an outdoor camera so it can survive the elements.

Nightvision is not needed but I prefer a camera that can let me see on those dark and rainy days.

Anyone have any recommendations?

[tomcctv 187]

It all started a few months ago.

A package I was tracking showed up as delivered, so I go downstairs check my mail and it wasn't there.

Called USPS and went through the loop for a couple of days, basically they say they delivered it to correct address.

Every couple of weeks, this keeps happening and the frequency of the thefts keep rising as days go by.

I'm so paranoid about these thefts that when I have a delivery coming in on the same day I am home, I just jump to the window every time I hear a truck or the sound of a gate opening.

That's no longer an option since I have my windows close now so I can have my AC on.

This past week, I had 6 shipments coming in. All but two were received by me. All were being tracked and all show that they have been delivered.

I've had enough of losing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise and items to thieves and tired of being paranoid.

 

So I'm going to set up a camera outside on my door. I'm hoping that it deters these thieves and if not, then I can catch these poopheads.

I've been looking at wireless cameras since there's no practical way of connecting a wired camera.

I haven't found any camera that shows their battery life. I want a camera that can last at least 12 hours, just enough for me to get back from work. I don't mind changing the batteries every day.

I'm looking for an outdoor camera so it can survive the elements.

Nightvision is not needed but I prefer a camera that can let me see on those dark and rainy days.

Anyone have any recommendations?

 

 

 

it would be best if you could make something covert. you need to catch them. wireless stuff does not work all that well. i have used this sort of equipment in the past for covert. just get a tupperware box and dig a hole in your garden close to your mail box and hide the two cameras just looking out of the ground its good for 11 hours.

dvd quality video

[Erron S. 0]

^^^ Cool! What is it and where can you get one?

[WCHS 0]

An option is a game or trail camera with a vandal resistant bear box. Much more visible and difficult to hide, but an option for a camera. The batteries last for days or weeks on some models. The game or trail cameras take series of photos or video clips at a rate and length of your choosing on SD computer cards. If you choose the infrared version, you can usually catch a license plate number within 30 feet of the camera if it's a higher resolution camera model. I recommend the infrared version or a version without a visible flash. The bear boxes are nice protection and many people make their own aftermarket models cheaper than the manufacturer models. Lag bolt the box to a sturdy post or wall, instert teh camera into the box, maybe hide the trail camera in some hanging plants with plenty of line of site vision to see and detect the area guarded. The bear boxes lock with a padlock. Don't wait and see what happens with valuable merchandise, bait the thieves like you bait wildlife for a trail camera. Set out a box in the morning labeled like you recieved a package. Setting out packages containing valuable looking but used worthless computer hardware is a cheap way of getting rid of hazardous household waste while baiting the thieves. If you do some creative packaging with antistatic bags and fake labels and paper invoices, the items may look like new and valuable at first. Hopefully they aren't so bright to know they are stealing worthless junk if you present the packages well enough. If you get creative, you can even include a phony RMA option for returning merchandise for credit with some outrageous dollar amount for credit with an email address to contact for an RMA number. If you are web tech savy, you can create a website just for your own phony company where they can fill out the form on where to send the refund payment. You get the form with contact information, they get scammed and identified for stealing from you. If you set up a website, make sure you set up statistical tracking like a free statcounter which identifies the IP address of the visitor along with other tracking tidbits. Lots of crteative ways to deal with mail thieves, some that cost very little money. Most likely they are stealing from a location in line of sight for your deliveries. They see you have a package, run over and pick it up when the coast is clear. If this is the case, any traps you set may be observed while you are installing them. Keep that in mind. Good luck, hope you come up with a fairly cheap, easy and successful method to catch them.

Sometimes hi-tech isn't necessary, most crooks are careless and in too much of a hurry to see the obvious. Especially if they've been getting away at the same thing for too long. Require all your packages come signature required.

[empak 0]

Build a birdhouse, paint it up real nice and put a cam in it........ works very well, the bigger the birdhouse..... the more cameras you can fit. i have built one with windows (very light welding filter lens)

[bpzle 0]

I think I'd make a false package and booby trap it. Like maybe one of those paint ball mines.

 

Use a cheap cube camera from CNB and temporarily tape it to the inside of the peephole on your door. Hook it up to an old time lapse vcr, I'm sure you could find one for $50 on ebay... Certainly cheap, covert, and you'd get some laughs out of the tool that's theivin' when the paint explodes all over him.

Of course this would all be temporary. If you wanted somethin permenent and a little more functional you'd have to spend more. The temporary setup I thought of would cost around $100 for everything.

[WCHS 0]

I think I'd make a false package and booby trap it. Like maybe one of those paint ball mines.

Wishful thinking that'd get you in jail faster than the thieves in our state, then the lawyers would get hold of your wallet and you'd pay the thieves money for all kinds of crazy stuff for them having stolen from you in the first place. A prepaid cell phone with the chaperone service activated could tell you where your packages had been going. But you'd lose the cell phone in the process of tracking the thieves, unless you catch them. Geo-Tracking dog collars can work too, but most are subscription based. The nice thing about the chaperone cell phone and dog collar, you set the area limits. They alert you once they are on the move, not before. The bird house plan is a good deal. I use one for a security camera now. I even have glass in the hole to keep the birds out.

[rory 0]

Sad to say thats why we dont have mailboxes in this country, just post offices for pickup. Leave a pair of shoes outside the door and its gone quick.

 

Ok that said I would wait in the bushes till they come then zap them good .. drag them in the house and say they broke in and give them a good whooping!! I chased a burglar the other night, came in my yard trying to break in my vehicles ... he will think twice now.

 

$5 for machete ... burglar running scared and never to return .. priceless!

[Scruit 0]

Ask the shipper to require a signature in person.

[Sawbones 0]

I took a camera module out of one of my Mobotix D12 cameras and put in a 135mm telephoto lens module that focuses directly on my mailbox.

 

Works great for "mailbox baseball" too.

[dvarapala 0]

It may turn out to be cheaper and easier to simply rent a box at MailBoxes Etc. and have your packages shipped there. If they're stealing your regular mail, too, you can have all your regular mail sent to your MBE box as well.

 

The next step is to move out of that sheyatthole of a neighborhood you live in as soon as you can.

[cglaeser 0]

I installed a wireless alarm system for various sensors outside my house including a wireless magnetic switch on my mailbox. The system chimes whenever a device is faulted and a voice message tells me which sensor. I also have a camera aimed at the mailbox and I can check any or all cameras instantly on my iPhone. My next project is to send an automated text message whenever the mailbox is opened.

 

Best,

Christopher

[mike_va 0]

I installed a wireless alarm system for various sensors outside my house including a wireless magnetic switch on my mailbox. The system chimes whenever a device is faulted and a voice message tells me which sensor. I also have a camera aimed at the mailbox and I can check any or all cameras instantly on my iPhone. My next project is to send an automated text message whenever the mailbox is opened.

 

I've done this for our security system. Kinda brute force: tapped in to a logitech mouse for the contact closure, use the logitech software to hit a python script to send a text message. Sends a text when armed or alarm goes off.

 

Alternatively you could use the demo version of vitamin d to send a picture when it detects a person.

 

Mike