WEST COLUMBIA (WACH) - Like Santa's little elves, the men and women of the United States Postal Service doing their best to deal with the holiday rush. Postal Service spokesman Harry Spratlin says it's extremely rare to have your mail plundered by a grinch.
"We've had a couple cases this year. This is the first time we've had such a thing happen." Spratlin is referring to a string of mail thefts in the Upstate. "This type of thing is rare at Christmas, but people are expecting a lot of packages this time of year."
Spratlin says to decrease the chance of becoming a victim, never send cash through the mail. You can also send mail certified or registered, and request delivery confirmation. You can even take it a step further.
"You can go to a do it yourself store and they have a whole line of mail boxes and some of them have locks," says Spratlin.
16 billion pieces of mail will be sent between Thanksgiving and Christmas, some it passing through the sprawling facility in West Columbia.
"Most anyone who's lived in an address for a certain period of time has pretty much an agreement or an idea where the letter carrier is going to leave any package that's delivered. If you want that changed you need to call the post office," Spratlin says.
Following these tips can help your letter carrier and help you enjoy all your Christmas mail this holiday season.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH