Updated 25.8.2025: Who hasn't experienced a USPS lost package? I would be quite surprised if anyone didn't. Missed deliveries, lost packages, and missed packages have been on the rise in recent times and are now considered a serious problem. We have all been battling this problem for many years now. Package theft and other such package issues are not limited to one delivery service only. This calls for more effective and efficient ways to tackle the issue. USPS delivery service offers some solutions to avoid USPS lost packages.
A May 2025 white paper from the Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) similarly noted that at least 58 million packages were stolen in 2024 and stressed that addressing package theft requires collaboration across retailers, delivery providers, law enforcement, and consumers(uspsoig.gov). The OIG report highlighted strategies such as flexible and secure delivery options, improved tracking technology, discreet packaging, and better data sharing. These statistics highlight why taking proactive measures to protect your USPS packages is more important than ever.
You can use these alternatives to safeguard your USPS packages.
Track a Package
Start by locating your tracking number. This can be found in shipping receipts, sales receipts, email confirmation, shipping confirmation emails from an online retailer, or the bottom peel-off portion of your USPS label. Enter your tracking number and find shipping and status information, delivery and destination addresses, weight, mail class, and postage cost for your package.
Informed Delivery
Informed Delivery is an optional service you can use for free. It is a notification feature that sends you an email containing a greyscale image of the exterior, address part of your letter-sized mail. This allows the recipients to see when a package is arriving in their mailbox. You can track all your incoming packages automatically with email alerts.
USPS has expanded Informed Delivery with additional features. The service now provides color previews of some mail pieces and status updates for both incoming and outbound packages, delivered via a daily digest email or accessed through the USPS Mobile app(usps.com).
Signing up is free and, once enrolled, customers typically start receiving notifications within three business days. Informed Delivery displays grayscale images captured by high‑speed sorting machines and can help you anticipate deliveries, though not every package may be eligible
Hold Mail
The Hold Mail service allows you to keep your mail and package for up to 30 days at your local Post Office facility. In that way, if you are away on a holiday or are unavailable to receive your mail or package, it can be put safely away until your return.
Rent a PO Box
You can also rent a PO Box with USPS to get your mails and packages delivered. USPS offers a range of PO Box sizes to hold your mails and packages safely at a Post Office facility near you. Many of the USPS PO Box locations are open 24/7 giving you easy access any time. Moreover, if a package delivered to your PO Box is too big to fit in your box, USPS will hold it for you.
Gopost
This is a USPS package receiving service. Customers can opt to ship their USPS deliveries for easy pick up to any one of the Gopost locations according to convenience. When your USPS package is delivered to your Gopost unit, you will receive an email or text notification to pick it up.
In January 2025 the Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service highlighted the success of Project Safe Delivery. Since its launch in May 2023 the program has achieved a 27 percent reduction in letter‑carrier robberies and more than 2,400 arrests(about.usps.com). Key elements include deploying secure blue collection boxes nationwide, educating 169 million addresses on mail‑theft prevention, conducting “surge” operations with local law enforcement to target high‑crime areas and using advanced forensic technology to investigate mail‑theft cases. Customers are urged to retrieve mail promptly, avoid leaving checks or valuable items in mailboxes overnight, and purchase postage only from official USPS vendors.
Operation Safe Delivery: a broader federal crackdown launched by the Postal Inspection Service and Department of Justice aims to dismantle organized mail‑theft rings and install high‑security mailboxes in major metropolitan areas(fedweek.com). Reports note that cases of stolen checks, packages, and attacks on letter carriers have surged, with more than 500 attacks reported in 2023. States such as California and Texas have enacted stricter penalties for mail theft, and postal unions advocate additional measures like panic buttons and GPS tracking to protect carriers. Staying informed about these initiatives helps you understand the broader efforts underway to secure the mail system.
USPS packages not delivered, lost packages and missed deliveries continue to rise in cases despite the USPS delivery service solutions. To prevent package theft, it is best to be aware of the different methods and ways you can avoid a USPS lost package.
Schedule or reschedule a delivery
To know exactly when you would be receiving a package, schedule your package to be delivered when you will be available to receive it. Sign up for notifications and check if you can have alternate delivery options. If you missed your delivery, schedule a redelivery date that is most convenient for you. Redeliveries can be scheduled 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Give special delivery instructions
If possible, leave special delivery instructions for your order. You can ask not to leave your package on the porch. Porch pirates will leave no stone unturned to strike at any given opportunity. Instead, ask to leave your package out of plain sight. Possible places can be behind plants or bushes, a side door or the side of the house, or a back door.
Install a security camera or a video doorbell
Security cameras and video doorbells act as a good deterrent for porch pirates. Package theft is a crime and if caught stealing packages, the thief will be charged with theft, property crime, and other offenses. If you have a video doorbell installed, you can interact with the delivery person and instruct them where to leave your package. Video doorbells are motion-activated and capture anyone who approaches your door.
Get your packages delivered to your office address
Another easy solution to avoid losing your USPS packages is to send them to your office address where they will be safely and surely received by you or someone. If you keep missing your deliveries or your packages are stolen often because you are mostly away at work, then this is a great way to receive your deliveries.
Use a smart package locker service
Of late, customers have resorted to using smart package locker services like Amazon Lockers, USP Access Points, FedEx Ship&Get or USPS Gopost. These smart lockers are safe alternatives to securely receive packages. Shipping companies deliver packages to these lockers which can be accessed with a unique security code. These smart lockers can be found in convenience stores, grocery stores, chain stores, or even inside apartment buildings. The locations are usually open throughout the day.
Clear shipping labels
An important point to keep in mind is the accuracy and clarity of your shipping labels. Ensure that you put in the correct destination address and do not forget to put down a return address as well. If the package doesn't make its way to the recipient, it can be sent back to you. Shipping labels should be clearly legible and securely attached before shipping. Use smudge-free ink when writing down or printing shipping labels.
Signature on delivery
Another way to tackle package theft is to ask for “Signature Delivery.” In this way, your packages will not be dropped off outside your home leaving them unattended and vulnerable to porch pirates. But this also means that you should be available to receive and sign off the delivery, which does not always work for everyone.
Stay informed and retrieve mail promptly
USPS recommends picking up mail quickly, avoiding leaving checks or parcels in mailboxes overnight and reporting any suspicious activity. Operation Safe Delivery is installing secure collection boxes nationwide and coordinating with law enforcement to deter thieves. Following these guidelines reduces the likelihood of theft.
How to keep your USPS packages safe and secure
In light of all the USPS package delivery hurdles customers face every day, it has become extremely essential to introduce a new and innovative idea for package delivery. Thus Stowfly package receiving and package acceptance service was established to bring a simple solution to all package delivery issues. Stowfly is simply an alternative shipping address where you can send your USPS package deliveries and pick them up at your convenience.
Stowfly partners with local shops and businesses in your vicinity to bring you convenient locations for package delivery in all major cities in the USA like NYC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Washington DC, Miami, Boston, Denver, Las Vegas, Jersey City & Philadelphia. All locations are safe to use, plus all bookings are insured by $1000 to give you an added sense of safety and security. Stowfly package receiving services are reasonable and affordable to use and boast an average customer rating of 4.8/5. Users can choose subscription plans, for example, five packages per month for $7.50 or 15 packages per month for $15 and receive a unique pickup PIN to ensure only they can collect the parcel. These enhancements make Stowfly an even more secure and flexible option for managing package deliveries.
Stowfly makes package receiving simple and secure by giving you an alternate delivery address. Sign up today and enjoy your first month free, experience worry-free package delivery to a trusted nearby location!
With safe storage spaces until pick time, convenient locations, flexible timings, and affordable rates, Stowfly package acceptance is fast becoming the best choice to receive packages. Book a Stowfly today and experience stress-free package delivery. Stowfly is the answer to all your package delivery needs.
Check this blog for more information about the do’s and don’ts when having to deal with USPS missing packages in this blog.