Mail Fraud is Still an Identity Theft Threat

With so many digital ways to attack someone’s personally identifiable information, it might seem strange that “old-fashioned” methods of mail fraud are still prevalent. A new report of mail scams in southwest Florida shows how easy it can be to attack an unsuspecting victim and steal their identity.

Change of Address Tactic

Using the change of address cards from area post offices, scammers target individuals by filling out the cards and redirecting their mail to a new address. After receiving the victim’s mail, the scammer can access sensitive documents that arrive by post and take advantage of credit card offers. Security experts used to tell the public to be on the lookout for any strange activity whether it was collections phone calls, hits to their credit score or notifications from financial institutions. Perhaps the most telling sign of all was simply that their mail would stop arriving. If your regular mail does not appear for three or more days, someone may have changed your address without your knowledge. According to the recent report, scammers have begun targeting two-person households for mail fraud. By changing only one spouse’s address, the victims are less likely to notice anything unusual. Meanwhile, the scammers are receiving the mail that should go to the other party. Once a criminal controls the mail delivery, they can request new credit cards, sign up for utilities in your name and use the utility bills with your name and address to enroll kids in school or sign up for government benefits for example.

Other Signs

In order to prevent mail fraud, it is important to be on the lookout for suspicious changes to your mail delivery or any other signs of fraud. Do not assume a debt collector just has the wrong person, determine why they think you are the right person instead. Report any suspicious matter to your financial institutions and confirm the information they have on file is correct.

Preventative Steps

You can also take preventive steps with your credit card companies by signing up for eBills instead of paper and blocking mailed credit card offers, just make sure you. If there are any odd communications from your utility company, that could be another sign of mail fraud.

Social Media

Social media is the other aspect of this recent wave of mail fraud, which has saved a few more victims. Once residents began posting online about being victimized, other people began to look into their own mail. Some victims only learned someone had stolen their mail after reading about it online. Do not ignore the little red flags. Check up on them to be sure no one has used your address.

Contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530. For on-the-go assistance, check out the free ID Theft Help App from ITRC. You might also like… Imposter Scams Were the Most Reported Complaint in 2018 In New Scam, Criminals Pose as Government Pretending to Help With Identity Theft Study Explores Non-Economic Negative Impacts Caused by ID Theft