When you are ready to have your mail forwarded to a new address beware that there are USPS look-alike, change of address scams out there. Be especially vigilant to observe the URL (web address) of the website. The Better Business Bureau says in a scam alert that, “Scammers are creating websites that look like services pretending to help switch your address for a move, sell property titles, renew your driver’s license and more. The sites trick consumers into paying steep prices for services that are typically free or low cost. Also, sharing your information with scammers through these phony sites puts you at risk for identity theft.”
Common versions of this scam involve doing a search for USPS and getting several search returns. You click on a link that looks official – scammers use logos and colors that are very similar to USPS. You fill out a form that looks normal, entering your personal information such as address and name and provide a credit card for payment. The initial payment might be only one or two dollars, but shortly after there’s a hefty charge of $80 to $100 from a business that is not the post office! The actual cost with the USPS is only $1.05; visit the official website. If you call the company to get a refund they will only offer a partial one and chances are high that they never actually perform a service.
Avoid change of address look-alike scams: To safely change your address with the United States Post Office the correct address is https://moversguide.usps.com/. Or go directly to the USPS’s main page – USPS.gov. There’s a link on their homepage that will take you to the Official USPS® Change-of-Address page.