If you’ve watched the news or read a newspaper in the last ten years, chances are you understand how identity theft can ruin lives. While most people worry about their opened mail and financial documents being stolen, they should also be worried about their unopened mail sitting in their mailbox.

If you look at most homes, their mailboxes are placed, sitting on a post. The post is used likely to meet the height requirements of the United State Post Office. In addition, a mail post typically allows the mail box to be displayed in a decorative and curb appealing manner. However, more and more neighborhoods are being built with wall mounted mail boxes next to the front door.

There are really no limits to the types of wooden mailboxes that can be made and used for the delivery of the mail. In fact, the individual’s imagination being the only thing holding them back.

If the homeowner cannot fashion the desired design, chances are they will know someone who can make the wooden mailbox they want.

In order to add to the appearance of their home’s exterior, many homeowners add planters to their front porches or to their lawns near the street.

Some even add flowers around their mailbox to add color to their landscape design. Combining a mailbox and planter is becoming more popular. It can make a good impression whether on the porch or on the curb.

It usually begins with a denied credit application or a call from a creditor saying a payment has been missed on an account the individual had not idea existed. After dealing with the company or their collection agencies, it may suddenly become clear someone else has used their personal information to obtain credit. This can leave the victim holding the bag for possibly thousands of dollars in debts.

Possibly one of the worst tragedies a person can experience is having their identity stolen and the information used to put them into financial ruin.

With many credit cards and bank cards, obligations created with a stolen identity are nullified. However, this is done provided the right steps in reporting identity theft have been taken.

Additionally, some families are learning that identity theft insurance can offer protection beyond the financial losses.

Sitting in the middle of the lake, casting a baited line into the water and retrieving it slowly, hoping to attract a big fish is one of the country’s favorite pastimes.

However, sitting in an office, sending out artificial bait to thousands of computer users is one of the lucrative pastimes of criminals. It’s their reality as they phish the Internet for identities to steal.

One way to guard against identity theft (or least be made aware of it before it can do a lot of harm) is to take advantage of new laws which enable people to get a free credit report every 12 months.

Since there are three credit reporting agencies, some people space them out over 12 months. Others want to receive them all at the same time to compare the information they contain.

Many mailboxes are placed on top of a post. This is done to of course meet the height requirements of the United State Post Office and also to find an aesthetically pleasing way of incorporating the mail receptacle in the overall landscaping that is making up the front yard.

While identity theft is making all the headlines, vandalism is another occurrence homeowners must factor in when considering the purchase of a mailbox. Vandalism comes in many different forms. But, by far the most common outcropping is mail theft.

This is closely followed by mail destruction – usually in the form of fires set inside the mailbox – and mail defacing accomplished by placing something undesirable inside the mailbox with the mail and leaving you with unsavory cleanup duty.