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March 30, 2009
Mailing Address Scam?
Is this a scam?
I keep getting mail addressed to different people at my address. It started 2 years ago and I've gotten mail for at least 30 different names now. Lots of it is junk mail but some are bills from utilities, dentists, hospitals, and even a Social Security statement.
When I call the companies that sent the bills, they don't care. I asked a credit agency and they said as long as my credit report stays clean, its not a problem.
But I'm pretty sure all these people didn't pick my address randomly. I've lived at multiple addresses in NY over 15 years and never experienced this. And those were apartments where you would expect high turnover. I now live in a house that was previously owned by a couple for 20 years.
Is this some kind of scam? Don't see anything on internet.
Mr. B - Can you post an inquiry about this on the homepage? Maybe as part of an article on scams on homeowners or Brooklynites more generally?
Thanks in advance.
Comments
Call 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777) and they'll tell you what to do. Maybe they'll even be able to stop it w/o you having to go down to the local PO. As long as your name and SS# haven't been compromised, I wouldn't worry. Sounds like deadbeats, not identity theft.
Posted by: pattunia at March 31, 2009 3:58 AM
I've been getting this lately too. I live in a 2-unit house and know the names of all the people that have lived there for a long long time. But lately there's been some new mail! And quite a bit of it - mostly junk mail.
I'm wondering if it's folks signing up for offers online etc. and entering fake addresses. I enter fake e-mail addresses and phone numbers all the time for these sorts of things.
Posted by: tybur6 at March 31, 2009 8:51 AM
If there's reason to be concerned (rather than just puzzled) start by speaking with your letter carrier and/or local post office. If you haven't reviewed your credit report recently, you are entitled to free reports from the three major bureaus once a year. What you're describing may or MAY NOT be related to identity theft or phishing. If not already familiar with them, you can read more at:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre34.shtm
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154848,00.html
https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/
http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub280.pdf
Posted by: vinca at March 31, 2009 9:12 AM
I get a lot of that too. Many times, when I look up the name, the address is off by a digit - 116 instead of 1116 or 16. If there's no obvious mistake, I block out the address (& especially the digital code along the bottom) & put "Return to Sender - Addressee unknown" on the envelope & mail it. Of greater concern to me is that I've been getting dunning phone calls recently about unpaid bills on both my landline & cell - 3 yesterday that bore no relationships to any info about me - e.g. wrong name, Queens address instead of Bklyn.
Posted by: Arkady at March 31, 2009 9:15 AM
I had a horrible case of identity theft about 4 years ago and the person that did it listed some vacant house in Bed Stuy as their (or rather my) address -- and it was listed on my credit reports. Lots of things got sent there -- items ordered from catalogs and all sorts of bills. The mail you are getting may be from someone using your address as a dupe. It does not sound like you are a victim except that you may be receiving another victim's mail. I would also suggest calling your precinct to tell them about it.
I am not surprised that the bill companies do not seem to care that you are erroneously receiving other bills.
You are doing a good thing to follow up on this.
Posted by: Schultz at March 31, 2009 9:53 AM
I keep getting cell phone bills under my aprtment number and address from t mobile under a foreign sounding name which is not me. I called the guy up who.s name is on the bill and he laughed at me. He had a thick middle eastern accent. So i called t mobile and they say they can't do anything about it.......Next step was corporate office of deutche telecom. they own t mobile and they said the same thing. Now what?
Posted by: Ysabelle at March 31, 2009 10:01 AM
PS
I keep getting landline phone calls for my neighbor whom I naver met. They are all bill collectors. Meanwhile this woman just got elected to be on the condo board of my building.......She is now the treasurer!
Only in NY. Only in NY.
My wires are not crossed. They call on my phone number asking for her. My phone number is unlisted.
Posted by: Ysabelle at March 31, 2009 10:07 AM
If you have the account number, just close it.
Posted by: Arkady at March 31, 2009 10:29 AM
I had a really awful case of identity theft about 4 years ago and the criminal was sending packages, bills, etc under my name to two houses in Bed Stuy. I found the address on my credit reports. The police went to both places and one was a vacant house, the other they could not get access to. You may not be a victim of identity theft, but receiving the mail of other victims. Vinca's suggestions are all good. After confirming your credit reports are in order, I would contact the police to let them know about the mail you are receiving.
Good luck, you are doing the right thing in checking this out.
Posted by: Schultz at March 31, 2009 11:45 AM
nyb01
The neighbors phone calls are coming to my landline. I don't have a cell phone.
arkady
how do you close someones elses cell phone account?
Posted by: Ysabelle at March 31, 2009 11:47 AM
Ysabelle, tell the company who keeps calling about the bill not to call your number any more. By law, they must remove that number from their call list once you tell them that.
Posted by: InsertSnappyNameHere at March 31, 2009 11:54 AM
insertsnappynamehere
Thank you
Posted by: Ysabelle at March 31, 2009 12:25 PM
Ysabelle, I get a ton of collections calls, too, and I haven't been able to stop them. So don't be surprised if it doesn't work. No amount of explaining that this is a wrong number will get them to stop calling. I don't think "do not call" applies in this case, where they believe you or someone at your number owes them money.
And, OP: definitely send the mail back, marked "unknown." You might consider taking it to a mailbox, even, to ensure that the mail carrier isn't part of some identity theft scheme (it's been done).
On the other hand, I get a lot of bills addressed to me, mostly subscription renewal reminders and domain registration stuff, that are totally bogus. So they could be weird fake bills. Either way, "return to sender/ recipient unknown" is the way to start.
Posted by: amanda at March 31, 2009 2:04 PM
You can also write to A.G.'s office, FCC, BBB & so on. When I get really riled I plaster every public service person & group w/ complaints - at the very least it minimizes the possibility of my being held responsible.
Posted by: Arkady at March 31, 2009 3:51 PM
We get numerous T-Mobile bills (up to 5 per day), different names, all to our address. Names like Lion King, crap like that. T-Mobile doesn't require positive ID or proof of address to open an account. A wonderful policy, particularly if you are a drug dealer, mobster, or terrorist. No way to track you.
Anyway, I tried for a while to get someone at T-Mobile to care, but I gave up. Now I just write return to sender on the envelope and put it back in the mail. And hope the FBI doesn't come to my apartment looking for Mr. Lion King.
Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at March 31, 2009 7:16 PM
amanda: actually you should be able to issue "cease to exist" statement and they must stop calling. I am not sure about details - but you can find such things on creditboards.com - very good place to follow up with identity theft and credit reports.
Ysabelle: if you get t-mobile bills, you can go to their website, login under account number and wreath the chaos to the account. Order 10 more phones. Cancel service. Change the voice mail message to something inappropriate. Today is the fools day - teach this moron a lesson.
Posted by: bobjohn at April 1, 2009 9:56 AM
also person with heavy accent, who uses fake address to get cell phone might be up for no good - call DoHS or "you see something - say something" hot line and report him.
Posted by: bobjohn at April 1, 2009 9:59 AM
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