Simple Solutions to Protect Your Letterbox From Fishing

Postal theft remains a growing problem across the UK. As a locksmith at Doncaster locksmithing experts Doncaster Lock & Key, one of the most common requests we receive today is to improve letterboxes. While the letterbox is a key feature on most external doors, it is not the most secure appliance.

That’s why I want to provide you with some simple advice, direct from a locksmith, about how to keep your letterbox from being a risk. Use these tips to help ensure you can protect your letters and parcels from being stolen, whether you have a letterbox on your door or one fitted to your wall.

Letterbox Fishing: What Does This Mean?

Letterbox fishing is an increasingly common technique used by criminals today. It means fitting a hand or a tool through a letterbox and ‘fishing’ around for parcels, letters or, more ideally, keys. A long wire is fed through the letterbox, and they then try to steal whatever they can.

That might sound a bit complex, but it’s a very easy-to-carry-out skill that many criminals employ daily. It’s a highly effective method for key theft, which could then allow the criminal to enter your home and steal more of your belongings. By using nothing more than a sturdy metal rod, the criminal could theoretically get the rod through your letterbox and ‘fish’ around until they snag your keys, etc.

The easiest way to stop letterbox fishing, of course, is to not have a letterbox in the first place. If your front door does not have a slat for letters to come through, nobody can fish through it, right?

Instead, you might choose to have a standalone letterbox installed instead. These need to be broken into via unlocking (lockpicking) or by brute-force entry. In our experience, fitting a wall-mounted letterbox is more secure than having a standard letterbox plate on a front door.

First Off: Should You Get a Standalone Letterbox?

In Europe and the USA, it’s common to see homes with no letter plate on the door, instead having a standalone letterbox. Is this the right choice for you?

In our experience at Lock & Key, we see the value in having a standalone wall-mounted letterbox. If you choose a high-quality, robust letterbox, it should provide more security than a basic letter plate on your front door. We recommend letterboxes to HMOs, rental properties with multiple occupants, and businesses such as offices. They also work well in flats.

A letterbox is more secure than a standard letter plate, but it’s not invincible on its own. Most standard letterboxes can be opened with lockpicking tools, meaning someone could still help themselves to your post and parcels. Given that identity theft can start simply by someone stealing your letters containing your personal details, you must buy a secure, Police Approved standalone letterbox.

Another benefit of a wall-mounted letterbox is that it’s more energy-efficient. They don’t allow air and heat to escape through the letterbox, meaning less energy wastage in your home. While it’s hardly going to knock hundreds of pounds a year off your energy bill, every little helps – especially in our current economic climate!

Key Considerations When Buying a Wall-Mounted Letterbox

If you do decide to go down the route of buying a wall-mounted letterbox, you will have no shortage of options. There are many styles and shapes to pick from, so our advice would be to consider the:

• Size. Size matters, and you need to get a letterbox that is big enough for postage to fit through. Do you want a letterbox only for basic letters, or for larger deliveries and parcels as well?
• Security. Some wall-mounted letterboxes have nothing more than a standard cam lock. We recommend a letterbox with an anti-snap lock; search for Police Approved letterboxes.
• Durability. Make sure that your new letterbox is made from durable materials and is primed for UK weather conditions. Ensure it’s weatherproof – we get plenty of rain!

What About a Free-Standing Letterbox? Should I Consider This Instead?

Wall-mounted and free-standing letterboxes can provide many of the same benefits – and risks.

If you have a gated entrance at the start of your driveway or you have high-level security around your perimeter, free-standing letterboxes can be a great choice. We would recommend going free-standing if a delivery person is unable to reach the front door and get to your wall-mounted letterbox.

They cost a little more, but free-standing letterboxes tend to look a little nicer and come in a wider variety of sizes. If you get many large parcel deliveries, this might be more suitable. Whatever option you choose, make sure you buy a Police-Approved post box.

For one, this means that your post box has to be a certain height. These need to be around 0.7m to 1.7m in height to help prevent back injuries and pain for postal staff. It also needs to have certain lock mechanisms in place that meet Police-Approved standards.

When searching for potential free-standing lockboxes, make sure the description specifically mentions “Police-Approved” – also, regulations change regularly, so make sure your new letterbox fits with current regulations. You can find an example of these regulations on the Gov.uk website.

Drop Boxes for Parcels: Worth the Extra Cost?

If you get a lot of parcels delivered to your home, you might love buying stuff off eBay, or if you are someone who buys and sells products online, you may wish to think about getting a parcel drop box.

These became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained so since. Parcel drop boxes are highly secure and hard to open without the right tools, and most criminals aren’t walking around with tools to crack open a parcel drop box. They are usually bigger and deeper than a usual free-standing or wall-mounted letterbox, giving you more storage space.

Speaking of space, though, make sure that your parcel drop box isn’t going to become an eyesore. It needs to be placed so it won’t obstruct access to your property or get in the way of others. Also, a growing number of drop boxes are permanent once installed, making their removal feel almost impossible. Consider that before committing to fitting a drop box.

Also, remember that you’ll need to give delivery personnel notice to use your drop box when delivering parcels. Your lockbox could come with a code-operated opening that disables the lock, which is more efficient. However, it means you would need to change the code regularly. Other options include Wi-Fi-enabled locks with a scanner that opens when the driver scans the parcel.

You have plenty of options, so take your time to consider your choices. Drop boxes are expensive, large-scale, and generally recommended only for people who receive many large parcels.

How Do I Make My Front Door Letterbox More Secure?

In many cases, a wall-mounted or free-standing letterbox will not be what you want. So, our advice at Lock & Key is to invest in ways to bolster security around your front door letterbox. We recommend:

Never Store Keys Within Reachable Distance

Look, we know how useful it can be just to have your keys next to the door. It’s also an advertisement to criminals who don’t mind taking a risk by going fishing. Avoid storing your keys near the front door or your letterbox; if a criminal cannot fish for them, they are unlikely to be able to get inside.

Avoid Front Door Windows

They might look nice, but front doors with glass windows are asking to be smashed in. If possible, avoid installing a front door with windows on the door or on the sides. This is especially true if your door has easy-to-operate mechanisms, such as a thumb-turn latch.

Buy a Sturdy Letterbox

We know that you can buy cheap UPVC plastic letterboxes online for a few quid, but please avoid that choice. For a little more money, you can buy a more secure letter plate that has extra protection, as we recommend below. Just as importantly, though, the flaps will be more durable.

Cheap letterbox flaps will eventually wear out due to wear and tear and frequent opening and closing. When a flap is damaged or weakened, it’s easier to snap. Speaking of snapping, cheaper letterbox flaps can be easily removed in a few minutes with nothing more than a screwdriver. More high-end letterbox flaps are more durable, but also are much more challenging to remove from the door.

Install Letterbox Protections

If you think the above is overkill and will do too much damage to your aesthetic, protect your letterbox. Add a letterbox guard inside your letterbox. That means people would not be able to peer through the letterbox, nor would they be able to open it enough to feed their arm through. Similarly, a letterbox cage can stop arms or fishing tools from getting through the letterbox.

Gallous criminals will peer through letterboxes to look for one thing: a sign that nobody is home. In some cases, that could be a large pile of letters and parcels lying on the floor. With a letterbox guard, they would be uanbe lto see the substantial build-up of letters, etc.

You might not be home for a period of time for any manner of reasons, such as being on holiday. If you disguise the fact that your post has not been collected, you avoid suspicion from criminals that there is nobody at home to stop them from entering. Make sure that any plates you buy are TS008 compliant; these are the best options for adding lasting security to your front door letterbox.

Fit Letterbox Bristles

Today, most letterboxes have nylon bristles installed. These bristles are great for cushioning parcels as they come through the door. They also help with the energy efficiency issues we mentioned above. Stopping drafts and excess airflow through your letterbox will help make your home more energy-efficient. These bristles also further obscure visibility into your home, adding extra privacy.

Avoid Fire Risks

Sadly, arson attacks starting through your letterbox are becoming more common. Fitting a homeguard to your letterbox will stop this from happening. These are fire-retardant bags that would catch anything put through your letterbox – like a torch, flammable object, firework, etc. – and douse the flame before it can expand and set your home ablaze.

Where we operate mainly in Doncaster, antisocial behaviour continues to be a serious issue. If you worry about vandalism and fire-based attacks on your home, a fire-resistant letterbox homeguard works well to ensure anything that comes through your door is dealt with and extinguished instantly.

Ward Off Criminals With Smart Doorbells

Of course, protecting your letterbox also starts with having other ways to ward off potential break-ins. We recommend you get a smart doorbell, like a Ring doorbell. These are great for recording any suspicious activity. Still, they are usually enough to help make criminals think twice about trying to get into your letterbox or break through your door.

If anything happens that could put your safety at risk, the doorbell will capture footage, which could help the police catch the individual(s) involved.

Bolster Perimeter Security

We also recommend installing extra perimeter security, such as motion sensors and CCTV systems. These can all be linked together to give you a clearer picture of your home security. The presence of such systems is usually enough to make a criminal see breaking into your home or fishing through your letterbox as tough work.

Criminals want an easy steal, not something that puts them at risk of being caught. By installing extra perimeter security, you make your home far less likely to be targeted.

Upgrade Your Letterbox or Post Box for a Safer Life

The above should give you a pretty good idea of where to start when it comes to reducing postal risk. Letterboxes and postboxes that are not well-secured are easy targets for criminals looking for low-hanging fruit. As such, we highly recommend that you take this advice into careful consideration!

By adding fire-resistant protections, privacy boosters, and anti-fishing features, you make your letterbox safer. If you choose to go down the route of fitting a standalone post box, make sure it is Police-Approved and meets your requirements for style, size, and aesthetics.

Of course, if you need any help securing a letterbox or post box in the Doncaster area, call the team at Lock & Key. We’ve always got someone on hand who can make sure your letterbox or mailbox is up to the standard expected!