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…
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.
Ysabelle,
Disconect your cell phone.
If you have the account number, just close it.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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.
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.