For some people, opening an empty mailbox can be a relief—receiving no mail is better than getting junk—but an unusually empty mailbox can actually be a sign of identity theft. In 2021, 36,000 changes of addresses were flagged as suspicious; of those, some were identified as fraudulent, according to KPRC 2 News: victims of a scam called change-of-address fraud, which is surprisingly easy to do.
What is change-of-address fraud?
Normally, people make a change-of-address request with the USPS when they move. The USPS offers the service in person, online, or by mail, and they’ll forward your mail from your old address to your new one for 12 months, free. (During that time, you’re supposed to update your new address with those senders).
When done online, a change of address is verified by two-factor authentication—to verify your identity, a code is sent to a phone number that you’re asked to provide. But the USPS has much less security for the other two methods to change your address, particularly by mail. There’s no two-factor authentication, and it can even be done without ID, according to Aura, an internet security website. A change of address verification form is usually sent to the old and new addresses to confirm the changes, but victims of the scam claim not to have received them.
How does the change-of-address scam work?
According to Aura, here’s how the scam works:
An identity thief figures out your contact information, such as your full name and address. They might find it by stealing your physical mail or buying your basic information online. You can see if your account or personal information is available to hackers with Aura’s Dark Web Scanner.
That person (or accomplices) submit a USPS change-of-address form through the mail via the U.S. Postal Service, since verification isn’t required for mail-in applications.
The scammers divert your mail to the new mailing address where they have access.
They open your mail and access your bank statements, driver’s license renewals, and other sensitive information they can use to rob you or run various financial crimes under your name.
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Some red flags for change-of-address fraud
You can keep an eye out for some of these red flags for change-of-address fraud:
You receive confirmation of a change-of-address that you never filed
You unexpectedly stop receiving mail
You see an unexpected $1.05 charge from the USPS on your bank statement
Your credit card’s billing address is unexpected changed
You get notifications of new accounts in your name
You can avoid a lot of these problems by signing up for paperless billing. Also, sign up for “informed delivery” with the USPS (it’s free), where you can see a picture of your mail before it arrives. If you see those red flags, though, you should do something sooner than later.
What to do if you suspect change-of-address fraud
If you experience any of the red flags above and suspect change-of-address fraud, go to the USPS website and go through the dispute steps. You should also:
Contact your local U.S. Postal Inspection Service office.
Contact the general U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 if you can’t find your local office’s phone number (press “4" for mail fraud).
Take down notes about your suspicions and share as much information as possible to help postal inspectors.