Canada Post Offers Advice For Security Of Mail And Mail Theft Prevention During The Holiday Season

With high volumes this time of year, Canada Post wants to remind Canadians of a few simple steps they can take to protect their mail againt mail theft. The most important is to pick up your mail as soon as possible after it has been delivered.

"Mail theft like any theft of personal property can lead to financial loss and considerable inconvenience," said Ted Upshaw, General Manager of Security and Investigations at Canada Post. "We want to ensure our customers can take advantage of a few services that can help them and avoid this unecessary grief."

Other tips to avoid mail theft include:

* Deposit mail close to the scheduled pickup time posted on the mailbox.
* Items containing sensitive/financial or business information as well as large quantities of mail should be deposited at a local post office.
* It is essential that sensitive financial documents be shredded prior to disposal.

If you receive mail that's not yours, please don't leave it in an unprotected area. If the mail has been delivered incorrectly, please write, "delivered to wrong address" on the front of the envelope. If addressed to someone not living at your address, write "not at this address." In either case, deposit the mail into a street letter box or the outgoing mail slot of a Community Mailbox at the earliest convenience.

To report mail theft or lost or stolen packages click here.

Hold mail service for travellers

Canada Post's Hold Mail service can help those who are planning to travel during the holidays. Mail will be held for a minimum of 2 weeks for $20 and $8 for each additional week. The service is accessible at local post offices or on the Canada Post website at www.canadapost.ca .

Any suspicious activity or suspected mail theft should be reported immediately to the police at 911. If a mailbox is overturned or vandalized, please contact Canada Post at 1-800-267-1177.