Thanks for your interest in MailSafes.com.  My name is Jeff McGee and I am the President.

I want you to know about the fastest growing crime in America that is targeting our neighborhoods and how it has affected me personally.

A few years ago, a member of my family was targeted by an Identity Thief and it was very difficult watching the details of that ordeal unfold or knowing where to turn for help and information.  Where did we go wrong?

Identity Theft is easy

Just a few weeks ago, one of my business consulting clients was amazed at how much personal information about himself was on the internet (he finally Googled his name) and called me to ask what he could do about it.  Armed with just a few key pieces of personal information, a professional Identity Thief can do major damage.  That is why it is imperative that we do everything we can to restrict the amounts of personal information that can be used against us.

30% Mail Theft

30% of Identity Theft originates with theft of our mail, and this is exactly how this Identity Theft occurred against my uncle. He went through the neighborhood and targeted my Uncle’s mailbox.  All USPS mailboxes should be locked.  Unfortunately, few people are even aware that although your mailbox is property of the USPS and Federal Government, it is your responsibilty to maintain it.  If you are waiting for the day when they replace it with a locking model, they never will.

Password Theft

15-20% of Identity Theft originates inside our own homes by friends, family or people we come in contact with.  If you are still writing down passwords or trying to remember them and manually logging into websites, I highly recommend (I personally use this product to manage 100's of passwords for myself and clients) this free encrypted password manager. It will change your entire internet experience with one click encrypted logins.

If you do nothing else, take 5 minutes and WATCH the videos on this website.

My Uncle the target

In his 80's, still driving and being a responsible elder citizen, my great Uncle was targeted by someone who stole his identity and caused tremendous harm to this gentleman's credit, criminal record and most of all, his pride. You cannot imagine what it is like just trying to figure out what these people have done to you, much less how they obtained the information. This little man who'd never had a ticket, now had drug WARRANTS in his name because of Identity Theft, among other financial problems.

ABC News Channel 7, San Francisco

USPS reports volume mail theft in our area

I challenge you to be observant

Drive through your own neighborhood and really look at the sometimes 9 out of 10 residential mailboxes that are in need of repair/replacement and only 1 out of 30 has locks to keep these thieves out. Until the last few years, mailbox designs haven't changed much since approximately 1917 and most of them look like they have been around that long.  It's a joke when we really think about how easy it is to steal someone’s identity or personal information.

More and more, our mailboxes are becoming the drop off points for things that we never imagined just a few years ago and this is going to continue to increase in size and scope. Among many individual prescriptions that come through the mail, our honored Veterans get all of their VA medications mailed to them (how long before Walgreens and Wal-Mart are right behind so we don't shop elsewhere), we can get DVD's that come right to our mailbox, credit card companies send BLANK checks to us on a daily basis etc. and yet, most mailboxes are the weakest line of defense against these thieves. Isn’t our entire identity worth protecting?

Neighborhoods are changing

We lock our cars, doors and even try to shred the stuff going out the back door, but yet we leave the most sensitive pieces of our information wide open. With Identity Theft occurring right inside the home by friends, sometimes family and other workers, we added a unique line of interior home/office Wall Vaults (starting at $299) for sensitive documents like social security cards, birth certificates, check boxes, and other valuables.

There are 4 effective ways to prevent Identity Theft:

1. Lock your mailbox and send all outgoing mail out at the post office

2. Shred everything with personal information on it before discarding

3. Monitor your credit reports for unauthorized access

4. Restrict personal information as much as possible

Browse around, take the "How secure is your Identity" test, and if you think your protected well enough then I suggest a gift certificate from MailSafes.com to a family member, friend or client who could use the protection. They will instantly know how considerate you are and remember you fondly every time they check the mail.