Identity Theft Articles
Identity Thefts exploits postal Change of Address forms to steal mail, Credit
Cards and Personal Documents.
 The latest trick in Identity
Theft : divert the mail by sending it elsewhere through a change-of-address form. It's possible for
criminals to have the post office send the mail to their doorstep, even while the real addressee is sitting at
home wondering where their mail is, a recent investigation by television station WCBS of New York shows.
WCBS found that that it required no ID, no real hoops to jump through and not much gumption to file a fake
change-of-address card.
Al Weissmann, an inspector with the Postal Inspection Service, told WCBS that U.S. Postal Service records indicate
only 100 of the 45 million change-of-address forms filed were fraudulently filed. However, for the people
affected, the impact is huge: it means bank statements, pre-approved credit card applications and all sorts of
other personal information is being sent directly to an identity thief.
That's what Steve Zuckerman, of Great Neck, N.Y., found the hard
way: identity thieves racked up $90,000 worth of credit using nine credit card applications that were
illegally directed to them, according to WCBS. Great Neck is in Long Island.
This time of year poses a larger threat of identity theft for
Americans, as W-2 and other tax forms are currently being mailed out by the Internal Revenue Service. These
forms include your full Social Security number, the name of your employer and, in some cases, the bank account
that your paychecks go to.
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer advocacy
group, states that more than 100 million records with sensitive private information have been stolen from
Americans since 2005. More than 670,000 identities were stolen last year alone, WCBS reported.
Some tips to avoid identity theft include:
-If you
receive your mail at your place, pay attention if you don't receive any mail
in your name for more than a couple days, even if other people at your house are receiving mail. A
change-of-address form does not necessarily redirect mail for everyone in the household; it can just affect the
person that thieves targeted with a forged form.
-Consider
mailing your letters and bills in a public mailbox instead of from your home mailbox. Send bills and other
important mail before the final collection time for the mailbox, because thieves are known to tamper and steal from
public mailboxes at night.
-Get your
mail as soon as it arrives at your mailbox. Do not leave it sitting in the box overnight. Electronic sensors that
alert you with a signal inside your home that the mailbox has been opened are available for purchase.
- Consider
getting a locking mailbox.
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