Someone Is Using My Address for Mail or Credit: What to Do

Mail in a stranger’s name, a change-of-address letter you didn’t expect, or a bill for an account you never opened can all feel like someone is using your address. It may be nothing more than a former resident’s mail, or it may be a sign of identity theft or fraud. Here’s how to tell which situation you’re in, and the official route for each.

Which situation are you in?

What you’re seeing	Where to start
Mail for a former resident or someone you don’t know	Write “Not at this address” on it and give it back (USPS)
A change-of-address letter you didn’t expect, or your mail suddenly stopped	Dispute it with USPS (USPS) and report it to Postal Inspectors (USPIS)
Bills, cards or collection notices in your name for accounts you didn’t open	IdentityTheft.gov, plus a fraud alert or credit freeze (IdentityTheft.gov)
A letter saying someone at your address signed up for Informed Delivery	Deactivate it with the code in the letter (USPS)
A business registered at your address	Your state’s business filing office (SBA)
Medicaid, benefits or DMV mail for someone who doesn’t live there	Return the mail; tell the agency if you suspect fraud (CMS)

Mail for someone who doesn’t live there

For mail addressed to someone who doesn’t live with you, USPS gives these steps (USPS):

1. Write “Not at this address” on the envelope. Don’t erase or cross out the address.
2. Give it back. Hand it to your mail carrier or drop it in a collection box. USPS will try to return it to the sender.
3. Delivered to the wrong house? If the address on it isn’t yours, don’t write on it. Put it back in your mailbox or hand it to your carrier.
4. A “We ReDeliver for You” notice (PS Form 3849) for someone who doesn’t live there? Check “Other,” write “Refused” and return it to your mailbox or carrier.

Don’t open it or throw it away. USPS warns that willfully destroying mail meant for someone else may be punishable by the federal government (USPS). Opening someone else’s mail to pry into their business can also be a federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 1702).

One reason it can keep coming: a USPS change of address only changes a person’s mailing address with the Post Office. They still have to update government agencies and companies themselves (USPS).

If a stranger’s mail keeps arriving and you think your address is being used for fraud, tell the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which takes reports of “mail-related crimes, tips or incidents” (USPIS).

A change of address you didn’t request

A false change-of-address request can redirect your mail to someone else. USPS tries to stop them: since May 1, 2023, online requests need extra identity checks, including a card whose billing address matches the old or new address, and requests for someone else must be made in person with documents (USPS). Submitting false information can bring a fine or prison (USPS). Signs to watch for:

• Your mail stops. USPS stops delivering to the old address on the change of address’s start date (USPS). Not getting your bills or other mail is one of IdentityTheft.gov’s clues that someone has stolen your information (IdentityTheft.gov).
• A USPS validation letter arrives. After a change of address is filed, USPS mails a Move Validation letter to the address being left behind (USPS).

What to do:

1. Dispute it. If you’re not moving but got an official USPS Change of Address Validation Letter, go to managemymove.usps.com, choose “Received a Change-of-Address confirmation but not moving?” and enter the 13-digit key and the ZIP Code printed on the letter. USPS Support is then notified to investigate (USPS).
2. Act quickly. A 2022 review by the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General found that if customers don’t follow the letter’s instructions to report a problem, their mail is automatically forwarded (USPS OIG, 2022).
3. No letter, but your mail stopped? USPS’s change-of-address email form has a “Did Not Submit Request” option.
4. Report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report or 1-877-876-2455. When identity theft involves the mail, USPS also advises asking one credit bureau for a fraud alert and ordering your credit reports (USPS).

Check your accounts, too. USPS says identity thieves often prefer to change an address directly with a bank or other company rather than risk USPS’s verification process (USPS). If you stop getting a bill, the FTC says someone may have changed your billing address (FTC).

Credit cards or accounts tied to your address

In your name

A new bill you didn’t expect, charges for things you didn’t buy, or accounts you don’t recognize on your credit report could be signs of identity theft (FTC). So could debt collectors calling about debts that aren’t yours (IdentityTheft.gov). IdentityTheft.gov’s checklist (IdentityTheft.gov):

1. Call the fraud department of each company where you know fraud occurred. Explain that someone stole your identity and ask it to close or freeze the account.
2. Place a free one-year fraud alert by contacting one of the three credit bureaus; that bureau must tell the other two. Or freeze your credit: while a freeze is in place, nobody can open a new credit account. It’s free, and you place it with each bureau (FTC). See how to freeze your credit and the credit freeze tracker.
3. Check your free credit reports every week at AnnualCreditReport.com.
4. Report it at IdentityTheft.gov or 1-877-438-4338 to get an FTC Identity Theft Report and a recovery plan.

When you check your reports, look at the addresses too. Credit reports include identifying information such as your address, and mistakes might be a sign of identity theft (FTC). Dispute errors with each credit bureau that shows them (FTC). For a full walkthrough, see someone opened a credit card in my name.

In someone else’s name

Cards, offers or bills addressed to a stranger are still someone else’s mail: mark them “Not at this address” and return them (USPS). Report repeat deliveries you suspect are fraud to the Postal Inspection Service.

Someone signed up for Informed Delivery at your address

Informed Delivery is a free, optional USPS feature that shows images of the address side of letter-sized mail arriving soon, plus package updates. To verify new accounts, USPS mails a letter to the address (USPS).

• Don’t recognize the account? If no adult in your household recognizes the masked username or email in the letter, deactivate the account at reg.usps.com/idremove with the case-sensitive code it contains (USPS).
• Consider signing up yourself. USPS lists Informed Delivery among the ways to protect yourself from identity theft (USPS). People who share a mailbox see images of all mail delivered to the household, not just their own (USPS).
• Not every address qualifies. The mailbox must be uniquely coded, and some apartment buildings and condos aren’t (USPS).

A business registered at your address

LLCs, corporations and similar businesses register with the state, most often through the Secretary of State’s office, a business bureau or a business agency. Their filings list details like the company’s address and registered agent. Trade names (DBAs) may be registered with the state, county or city instead (SBA). What you can do:

1. Find your state’s filing office with the SBA’s state registration lookup.
2. Contact that office. Explain that a filing lists your address without your permission and ask what it can do. The process depends on the state.
3. Return the business’s mail marked “Not at this address” (USPS).
4. If it looks like a scam, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state consumer protection office, which can help with complaints against businesses and investigate scams (USA.gov).

Government benefits or DMV records at your address

A USPS change of address doesn’t update records such as benefits, driver’s licenses or voter registration (USPS), so agency mail may simply be for a former resident. Return it marked “Not at this address.” If you suspect someone is using your address to claim benefits, tell the agency that runs the program:

• Medicaid: Applicants must be residents of the state where they apply (USA.gov). CMS notes that Medicaid fraud can happen at the beneficiary level. Because each state manages its own program, it says to contact your state to report suspicious activity (CMS). The HHS Office of Inspector General hotline, 1-800-HHS-TIPS, also takes Medicaid fraud tips (HHS-OIG).
• Social Security: The SSA Office of the Inspector General takes reports of people giving false information to get benefits, or hiding facts such as their living arrangements.
• Benefits in your name that you never applied for: Contact the agency that issued them and explain that someone stole your identity. IdentityTheft.gov lists contacts for unemployment, SNAP and other programs (IdentityTheft.gov).
• DMV records: Contact your state’s motor vehicle agency (find it on USA.gov) and ask how it handles a record that lists your address without permission. If your own driver’s license was lost or stolen, IdentityTheft.gov says to report it to the DMV; the state might flag your license number (IdentityTheft.gov).

How to report it

• A false change of address, mail theft or another mail-related crime: the U.S. Postal Inspection Service or 1-877-876-2455, after disputing any change of address with USPS.
• Someone used your identity: IdentityTheft.gov. You may also choose to file a police report (IdentityTheft.gov).
• A scam or a fake business: ReportFraud.ftc.gov and your state consumer protection office.
• Benefits fraud: your state or 1-800-HHS-TIPS for Medicaid; the SSA Office of the Inspector General for Social Security.
• A business filing: your state’s business filing office.

What happens next: A dispute flags the change-of-address order for USPS to investigate (USPS). Your FTC Identity Theft Report proves to businesses that someone stole your identity; if you don’t create an account, print and save it right away (IdentityTheft.gov). The FTC can’t resolve individual fraud reports but uses them in investigations (FTC), and not every tip to HHS-OIG leads to an investigation (HHS-OIG).

The report-a-scam tool lists more official channels, and the scam recovery checklist helps you track each step.

Watch for the follow-up scam

• Look-alike change-of-address sites. USPS warns that some third-party sites charge $40 or more to submit a change of address, and it no longer accepts submissions from third-party businesses. Use USPS.com (USPS).
• Fake delivery texts. If you never asked USPS to track a package, don’t click the link (USPIS). Forward suspicious USPS texts or emails to spam@uspis.gov, then delete them (USPIS). More: USPS text scams and FedEx or UPS texts.
• Fake officials. Scammers may pose as Postal Inspectors and threaten arrest to get your personal or banking information (USPIS). Others pose as the FTC and claim someone used your information to open accounts; the FTC will never threaten you or tell you to transfer your money to “protect it” (IdentityTheft.gov).
• Paid “recovery” help. Government agencies and legitimate organizations never ask for money to help you get a refund (FTC).
• Imposter credit report sites. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit reports the law gives you (FTC).

What varies

• Your state. Business filings, DMV records and Medicaid are handled by state agencies, so forms and procedures differ (SBA, USA.gov).
• Your mailbox. Informed Delivery isn’t available where mailboxes aren’t uniquely coded, as in some apartment buildings (USPS).
• What it’s used for. A former resident’s mail needs only a “Not at this address” note; accounts, benefits or filings in your name need the identity theft steps above.