Fraudulent activities came knocking at my door. How I put an end to it!
I have been a victim of address fraud. I became aware of this after severally receiving mail addressed to someone that was purportedly living at my residence. They had registered for their DMV license and insurance using my address. Possibly, they might have used my address to register for more services. Apart from their name, I did not know who this person was and why they had chosen to tell the government and other companies that they resided at my place. I became more worried after I rationalized that, if something was to happen to me, this person could claim my house in my absence. They certainly had all the proof in the form of all the documents that showed they resided at my place.
I spend a lot time thinking and asking for advice on how to deal with the issue. I also came across similar incidences had been happening to many other people. Despite the strict requirements in the DMV of showing proof of residence such as utility bills, it was clear that fraudsters were having an easy time getting past them. I learned of a few more serious address fraud incidences where the scoundrels managed to forward mail intended for different recipients to a certain mailbox. They were able to access rent and utility checks, receipts, personal letters, and documents containing social security numbers among many other mail addressed to other people. Since such incidences have been happening and could happen to anyone, I have chosen to share how I was able to deal with my issue.
From what I gathered, it is quite easy for scammers to use your address and later on forward your mail to their own addresses. Therefore, never assume that you are safe. The scammers have skills to get envelopes from your mailbox. They also are knowledgeable of the workarounds to the procedure used by post offices to forward mail to new addresses. Therefore, do not assume that you are immune to these fraud attempts. Always have your guard up and trust your instincts.
Here is what to watch out for as it could imply that you are a victim of address fraud:
- A sudden reduction in mails
- Not getting periodic mail such as utility bills
- Getting mail addressed to strangers
Once you take notice of any of the above, kindly follow these steps:
- Contact your mail carrier – you should get in touch with your mail carrier and inform that someone might have been using your mail but does not live at your address. You should stress to them that you do not want mail for that recipient to be sent to your address.
- Report to the Postal Inspector’s Office – rather than complaining about such incidences online, it is best to make sure that you reach the proper authorities directly. The US Postal Inspector is a federal agency charged with addressing mail fraud. Once you have been in touch with them, they will ask for some details and at times will ask you to visit the nearest Postal Inspector’s Office and lodge a complaint in person.
- Contact the US Postal Service – you can contact the USPS via (877) 876-2455 and report the issue as well. They will take up the matter and do follow-up.
After you’ve done the above steps, investigations should begin and the scammers may be arrested. Address fraud is a federal crime and those found guilty of it can be fined or imprisoned. If you continue receiving mail addressed to the fraudster, you can take these to the post office. That way, if the unknown person ever shows up to collect their mail, you can tell them to go to the post office and inform them that you will contact the police if they ever return to your home.