Neighbor slices open misdirected mail

Dear Amy: In my mailbox today was a credit card bill addressed to my husband with a sticky note attached.

Our next-door neighbor (she has a mailbox next to ours at the end of our driveway) explained that the piece of mail had been misdirected and she sliced open this bill, not knowing it belonged to my husband.

The last time a piece of mail was misdirected it happened to be my husband’s paystub. This was also sliced open with a sticky note attached, apologizing.

What is so dismaying is that we have received our neighbor’s mail but we do not open it — we are quite careful about scanning the front of the envelope before opening.

This neighbor now knows my husband’s salary and also how much he owes.

How should we handle this?

— Frustrated in Colorado

Dear Frustrated: My first suggestion is that you and your husband should go “paperless” and switch all of your financial records, banking, and bill paying to online.

You should both get fresh credit reports and monitor these regularly.

Also — tell your neighbor that you understand that mistakes happen, but that you do not want her to open your mail — ever.

It is not illegal to mistakenly open someone else’s mail — as long as the mail makes its way to the appropriate recipient.