Identity Thieves Who Use Prepaid Credit Cards Are Unfortunately Aided by the US Postal Service
Posted on August 5, 2008 | Filed Under
Identity Theft Fraud
So much talk happens surrounding online Identity Theft, that people often forget about how Identity Theft can take place in the real (physical) world.
If I am a real-world identity thief, and I dont want to use real methods (instead of virtual methods like hacking) one of the tools I have in my arsenal of ways to get your information is to use the United States Postal Service.
Now you might think this is as simple as just locking your mailbox, but that wont help you in this situation. One thing that identity thieves can do is actually go to the post office and have your mail put on hold and pick it up themselves.
But many arent that gutsy, or that dumb. You might not have been aware of this, or more likely, you probably just havent thought about it, but if an Identity Thief is willing to go in to a United States Postal Service post office, they can actually just write out a change of address form using the convenient USPS moving kit, without ever needing verification.
However, many identity thieves dont like doing that because they know that they may leave their fingerprints on the post card for the change of address. Even if they manage to avoid the fingerprints, there is a paper trail with either their signature or, at minimum, their handwriting, which can be used for analysis and possible conviction later.
So, many of the smarter identity thieves know that they can put in a change of address online at the postal service web site, and they can make this change to your address with a gift card. How this works is that they can go out and buy a prepaid credit card somewhere. An Identity Thief know that its simple to put any name you want onto a prepaid credit card.
All that the US Postal requires for you to do a change of address on the computer is register your new address and show a credit card as verification. So, when the identity thief applies for that change of address on the US Postal Services website, the name on the card matches the name associated with the address that you want to forward mail from. The post office will process the change of address for your mail. What that means is that your mail will then be sent to wherever that Identity Thief decided to change your address to.
I dont know what you get in your mailbox, but most peoples mail is like a non-stop ATM machine for Identity Thieves.
By changing your address for even just a few days, could an Identity Thief amass enough information from your mail to become you, and more importantly, what can you do to stop thieves from getting your information this way?
Unfortunately, not a lot. Outside of checking your mail daily and watching for any unusual slow-downs or stoppages in the amount of mail you receive, this is, for now, an area where your information could be stolen rather easily.
Where you want to have a more firm plan in place is in how youre educating yourself about Identity Theft in general, and as importantly, that you have a plan in place prior to the crime occurring, so that when the unfortunate day arrives, and you find yourself a victim of this most insidious crime, your steps are already laid out for you.
Jonathan Kraft is a recognized expert in helping people to understand Identity Theft prevention and protection. Learn more about the secrets used by identity thieves at the Identity Theft Secrets blog.
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