Change of address fraud on the rise

From the Department of Retirement Systems:

A major increase in change of address fraud has caught the attention of the United States Postal Service (USPS) and federal lawmakers. Data shows that change of address fraud and other types of identity theft numbers are up 167% from 2021-2022. The US Postal Inspector’s office states that seniors are the most likely targets and lawmakers are now asking USPS to tighten the identity verification process.

This is how the fraud works: If a criminal submits a new change of address form in your name with an address other than yours, it re-routes your…