Whether you find letter meant for your neighbor or someone else’s package that showed up on your porch, keeping mail that isn’t yours can come with consequences. Here’s what to do if it happens to you.
Is it legal to keep my neighbor’s mail or packages?
No, not if it’s addressed to someone else.
According to federal law, it’s illegal to take, hide or keep mail that isn’t yours if you know it wasn’t meant for you, even if it’s misdelivered. That includes all kinds of U.S. Postal Service mail — letters, postcards, packages and more.
If the mail is clearly addressed to your neighbor and you knowingly keep it, that can count as mail theft, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Wisconsin also has its own mail-theft law called Act 144, which took effect in 2020.
Unlike federal law, which only applies to USPS mail, Act 144 also makes it illegal to take or keep any mail delivered by private carriers like Amazon, UPS or FedEx. That includes packages left on porches or delivered to the wrong address.
Penalties depend on how much mail was taken. For example, if fewer than 10 pieces of mail are taken, that counts as a Class A misdemeanor. Taking 30 or more can count as a Class H felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Is it legal to open my neighbor’s mail or packages?
It is illegal to open or destroy mail that’s not addressed to you.
Federal law makes it illegal to open or destroy someone else’s mail before it reaches the person it’s addressed to.
This is called obstruction of correspondence, which is also punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
What should I do if my neighbor’s mail was misdelivered to my address?
If U.S. Postal Service mail is misdelivered to your address, the postal service advises you to place the item back in the mailbox or hand it back to your mail carrier.
If the mail is delivered to the correct location but the wrong person — for example, it’s addressed to someone who no longer lives there — USPS says to write “not at this address” on the item without erasing or marking over the address. Then, give it to your carrier or drop it in a USPS mail collection box.
In Wisconsin, you can also face consequences for keeping mail not only delivered by USPS, but also private carriers like Amazon or FedEx. Don’t keep it or throw it away — instead, contact the private carrier’s customer service for next steps.
What if the package has my name and address, but I didn’t actually order it?
If you got a package you didn’t actually order, the Federal Trade Commission says it could be part of a scam.
Sometimes referred to as a “brushing scam,” the FTC says sellers use addresses found online to send unordered merchandise, then post fake online reviews for their products under the recipient’s name to boost sales.
According to the FTC, you’re under no obligation to return the package.
If you suspect a scam, report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Is it illegal to keep mail or packages that aren’t yours in Wisconsin?
Reporting by Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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