If You Find a Lost Wallet, You Can Get It Back by Dropping It in the Mailbox
If you find someone’s lost wallet on earth, you can be a good Samaritan and lazy: just throw it in the blue box.
Redditor u / joecat2112 posted this useful tidbit to r / LifeProTips simply by writing:
If you find a lost wallet in the US, you can drop it in the USPS mailbox and they will return it to the owner for free.
It sounds too good to be true, but several commenters said it did happen to them, as did u / Alwaysshitingmyself, who wrote:
This worked for me recently. Lost my wallet and someone [must] threw it in the mailbox. Yusps put it in an envelope marked “found in the mailbox,” and after a couple of weeks I got it back. I need more consequences for my actions.
However, results may vary. First, the wallet must have some identifying information, preferably an identifier with an address. You should also assume that the person who opened this mailbox is trustworthy, or at least as trustworthy as you are, and they will track and return it. (And you have to assume that the USPS employee gets to the box before the potential fraudster does. )
In this regard, former postmaster Lars LaRue told Quora in 2018 that the duty to mail lost wallets is actually part of the zip code specifically described in the USPS 507 Mailer Services Reference Guide. Sometimes they do it not only well. LaRue says that you should use the blue mailbox so that no one can pick up the wallet other than the postal worker, but you can also bring it to the government building or the post office. And make sure the content is safe if you drop it in the inbox:
Wrap the contents in a rubber band or a plastic sandwich bag if the contents are loose. This ensures that all items in the wallet are returned with the wallet.
Again, results may vary. Reddit commenter u / MR_TACO_11 said they tried unsuccessfully to get ID to the post office:
I tried to take the ID I found to the post office. The clerk looked at me like I was stupid and said there was nothing she could do. They didn’t even ask anyone, even after I asked if they could ask their boss …
YouTuber Marc Robert conducted a nationwide lost wallet experiment to find out how many “lost” wallets were returned to him in the mail. Not all of them were:
The OP admitted that they got this advice from Robert right from the start. If the video doesn’t convince you to use USPS, and you’re still wary of the people delivering your mail every day, you can always send this wallet yourself. And pay the postage.