| Comment Number: | 527026-00027 |
| Received: | 3/24/2007 9:36:44 AM |
| Organization: | |
| Commenter: | Caruso |
| State: | OH |
| Agency: | Federal Trade Commission |
| Rule: | Proof Positive: New Directions for ID Authentication |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Protecting our personal mail is one of the important deterrents for preventing identity theft. I recommend that a national law or regulation be enacted that allows a person to use a locked mailbox if they choose and prevents any condominium organziation, subdivision restrictions, or other collective body of personal residences from requiring an unlocked mailbox for all its members. Case in point, I own a house that is part of a subdivision that has restrictions. One of the restrictions is "common mailboxes". The current subdivision leader is pushing for a bank of unlocked mailboxes for the whole subdivision thereby requiring every house in the subdivision to use an unlocked mailbox. The location of the mailboxes is isolated near the end of a private drive that intersects with a busy rural road - only one house about 1000 feet away has a view of the mailboxes - there are no other houses in sight, no bicycle or pedestrian traffic. Anyone could easily pull over from the rural road, go through the mail in these mailboxes, and steal mail without anyone seeing them. I recommend that some regulation or law be enacted to prevent a condominium organization or similar organization of homes from requiring individual members to use unlocked mailboxes. Since it may take time to pass legislation or a regulation, a useful first step would be to include this suggestion or recommendation on the FTC Identity Theft web page.