Handling Someone's Mail Could Land You With a Felony

@celticeagle (190874)
Boise, Idaho
July 3, 2026 2:06pm CST
Ever received mail that didn't belong to you? Did you just throw it in the trash? Since 1948 that act is considered a federal felony. It is serious and can have such penalties as up to 5 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. The proper thing to do is mark this mail as "refused" or "return to sender" and let the post office take of it.
5 people like this
5 responses
Amber
@AmbiePam (122189)
• United States
2h
I always put return to sender on it.
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (383834)
• Rockingham, Australia
2h
I would never throw out someone else's mail.
DE
@DaddyEvil (175124)
• United States
7h
Yup! We get other people's mail all the time in our PO Box and in our home mail box. I used to turn it in at the desk after writing "Wrong Address, Please Forward" and would then find it right back in our mail boxes again. The Post Master told us to just throw it away because they didn't have a forwarding address for it. So we just pitch it now if it doesn't belong to a neighbor.
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (136827)
• Marion, Ohio
5h
But even writing that stuff on it doesn't mean you won't get it again
George B Vieto
@Deepizzaguy (122892)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
3h
When a letter comes to my home and the person is not the person that lives in my address, I put on the mail "Wrong address."