Question on U.S. Postal Service and crypto (fwd)

[Jim Choate]

Forwarded message:

> Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 10:45:28 -0800
> From: David Miller <dm0 at avana.net>
> Subject: Re: Question on U.S. Postal Service and crypto

> I'm not so sure about this, Robert.  I've heard the rumor that it is a crime,
> but I have also heard that if something is delivered to your box, it is yours
> and you are not required to send it back unopened if it is not addressed to
> you.  I tend to believe the latter, as it is the side of the story shared by
> USPS employees.

The way it works is if a company send you (ie addressed to you or your
physical address) and *then* attempts to recoup costs for the product or item
delivered *and* you did not request the item *then* it is yours. It must be
either addressed to you or the occupant of that delivery address, it is
important to note that the test in all this is whether you requested
something from the company. If the item is specificaly addressed to a 3rd
party it is a crime to open it. I haven't looked into what the requirements
for re-delivery are, as far as I am aware you could either return it to the
post office for dead-letter filing or dump it in the trash.
 
> It certainly is a federal crime, however, for the indended recipient to get
> into your mailbox to get a message which was incorrectly delivered to you,
> however!

Technicaly, it is a crime for *you* to put stuff in your mailbox. When the
home pick-up was eliminated a few years ago (supposedly because of the drug
and bomb threat) the mailbox on your house or in your apartment was turned
into an *exclusive* delivery point for the USPS. When you or I ask somebody
to drop it in the box because we are not home we are technicaly committing a
crime.


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