Part of protecting yourself against identity theft is protecting your mail. Sometimes when you move it can take a few days for your mail to catch up to you. The U.S. Postal Service uses enhanced security protocols surrounding its change of address (COA) service by implementing additional identity verification methods. The USPS made these enhancements to address global identity theft concerns and to further protect customers' information. The change of address service can be completed online at USPS.com, or by visiting your local Post Office.
The Postal Service takes the issue of identity theft very seriously because it’s happening to them too. The Postal Service is seeing a surge in mail thefts and letter carrier robberies. From March 2020 to February 2021, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service received nearly 300,000 mail theft complaints; that’s more than a 160% increase compared to the same period a year prior.
