Address Fraud: What It Is and How to Avoid It

You’re probably familiar with the change of address process. Every time you move, you need to notify the post office of your new address. This ensures that all of your mail gets properly routed and that you don’t accidentally miss anything important. It’s a simple process—just fill out a form online or grab one in person and the post office will take care of the rest—which is good news when you’re dealing with the harried process of moving. That being said, the simplicity of changing your address also opens the door for address fraud, and all the complications that come with it.

Avoiding address fraud starts with knowing what you have to be on the look out for. It’s an incredibly easy crime to fall victim to, and the longer you go without catching on, the more damage that an identity thief can do. Here’s how to protect yourself.

What is address fraud?

Address fraud is a form of identity theft where an individual uses the change of address process to reroute your mail to a different address. And once they’ve diverted your mail, they can open it to get additional information about you, such as your credit card info or your social security number.

To do it, all a person has to know is your name and your current address. Then, using the mail-in change of address form available for pick-up at the post office, they can change your address without you being any the wiser about it for days or even weeks. This scam only works with the mail-in form, since the online change of address form requires a $1 verification fee from your bank account.

It’s hard to come by statistics on just how common address fraud is. In a report by KPIX, a San Francisco news channel, it was found that this type of fraud happens a lot more than the post office wants to let on. Of the 37 million change of address requests the United States Post Office (USPS) receives every year, it was previously reported that about 750 of those are potentially fraudulent. But according to data KPIX pulled using the Freedom of Information Act, USPS actually receives far more address fraud complaints than that—a possible 17,077 in just one year.

Why address fraud is such a big deal

In terms of identity theft, address fraud is one of the easiest crimes for criminals to pull off. The very things that make changing your address so easy also open the door for exploitable weaknesses in the process. With just your current address and a forged signature an identify thief can redirect your mail wherever they want it to go.

The main concern with address fraud is the wealth of information it potentially opens up. Things like pay-stubs, healthcare and Medicare statements, credit card statements, and loan statements all contain information that can be exploited. A thief could use what they find to change your financial accounts, sign up for new credit cards, and more, and if you’re not paying close attention, you may not realize what’s going on until a fair amount of damage has been done.

USPS has made some efforts to curb address fraud, most notably sending move validation letters to both your previous address and your new address when you request a change. But those letters can take weeks to arrive, leaving criminals plenty of time to dig in to your details. Plus, some identify thieves have found a way to get around the letter by putting a vacation hold on all mail to your current address.

Signs of address fraud

Avoiding address fraud requires vigilance. Here are some signs you should look out for that may suggest someone is diverting your mail.

You receive a move validation letter. Don’t just chalk it up to a mistake on the post office’s end if you receive an unwarranted move validation letter. If you get one and you haven’t requested a change of address, call your local post office immediately and inquire. They should be able to tell you pretty quickly whether a change of address form was filed on your behalf.

You stop receiving mail. You might get less mail than you used to in general as more companies go paperless. But if you notice a decrease in the volume of mail you receive or it’s been a few days and you haven’t received any mail at all (and it’s unusual for you), call your post office and find out what’s going on.

The billing address for your credit card changes. Some people realize they’ve been victims of address fraud when they try to use their credit card and their billing address or zip code no longer works. If you’re getting a notification that your billing address is incorrect and you know you haven’t made any changes to it, call your bank right away—it could be the case that an identity thief changed the information, and you’ll want to close your card as soon as possible.

You get notified that an account has been opened in your name. Scammers may use the information they get from address fraud to open new accounts under your name with stores or banks. Once again, don’t just assume it’s a mistake if you get notified about something you didn’t sign up for—inquire about it with the company and, if it’s truly legitimate, call your post office to inquire about potential address fraud.

Avoiding address fraud

Like all forms of identity theft, it’s not possible to shield yourself completely from possible address fraud—but there are still some things that you can do to lower your risk.

Go paperless with the important stuff. Request that all of your bank statements, loan statements, health-related documents, and anything else that may contain sensitive information about you go to your email—not your physical mailbox. Paperless billing and communications are common practices now, so you should find it easy to make the switch.

Be wary about who you give your information to. You can’t totally shield other people from discovering your current home address and other information about you, but you can take some steps to protect it. For example: don’t leave mail or other documentation with your current address out in public. And before you put anything with sensitive information in your recycling bin, run it through the shredder first.

What to do if you fall victim to address fraud

Hopefully you will never have to deal with address fraud, but if you do realize that someone has rerouted your mail make sure to act right away.

While calling your local post office is important for finding out whether your address has been changed, they won’t be able to tell you what your address was changed to, nor will they be able to take action on your complaint. For that, you’ll need to call your local U.S. Postal Inspection Service office, which you can locate here. You can also call the general number for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 (press option “4” to report mail fraud), or file a report online.

The more information you can provide the Postal Inspection Service the better, so make sure to keep detailed notes about any evidence of fraud that you have noticed, up to and including confirmation that a change of address form was filed with your post office. If you’ve had ensuing difficulties with your credit card or other personal information as a result, be ready to give details on that as well.

Always keep your eyes and ears open for signs of fraud. And if you ever suspect anything, seek out assistance right away.