Moving to a new home can be an exciting but stressful time in anyone’s life. Whether you’re planning a permanent move or not, a change of scenery opens the door to new possibilities and lifestyle changes. Amidst the chaos of packing boxes and coordinating logistics, there’s one essential task that should be at the top of your priority list: filing a change of address form with the United States Postal Service (USPS).

Even if you’re not planning on moving soon, creating an online account with USPS offers a range of benefits when it comes to keeping your mail safe from the hands of criminals. In this email, we’ll explain how taking a few minutes out of your day to set up an account with USPS can significantly reduce the risk of identity theft and fraud, providing peace of mind for both movers and non-movers alike.

Filing a Change of Address Form

If you are moving soon, or if you move seasonally, we recommend filing a change of address form with USPS whenever you do so.

As you may know if you’ve moved before, it’s crucial to inform financial and government institutions about your new address. Although doing this is necessary for you to obtain identifying documents like your driver’s license and an up-to-date billing address, it doesn’t always result in a smooth transition for your mail.

Failing to notify USPS of your new address means you’re relying on these institutions to report the details of the move for you. This can result in mail being held for months at a time until the post office receives all the necessary information about the move, and in worst case scenarios, your mail may still be forwarded to your old address.

Not only is this a major inconvenience, but it also poses a significant risk to the security of your personal information.

By proactively filing a Change of Address form, you ensure that your mail is rerouted to your new address, minimizing the chances of important documents falling into the wrong hands. This applies not only to permanent moves but also to seasonal relocations. By changing your forwarding address prior to moving to your summer or winter address, you can prevent mail from piling up in your mailbox while you’re away.

How do you do it? This link takes you to USPS’s change of address page and lets you fill out all of the necessary information to do so down below.

For those who have filed a Change of Address Before

USPS has recently started increasing the security of identity verification questions and is now asking you to provide more sensitive information when filing for a Change of Address.

They even go as far as to ask you for some of the digits in your credit card to confirm that it’s actually you applying for the change of address. While this may seem intimidating, it’s completely legitimate and is a step in the right direction for protecting against identity theft.

Now criminals can no longer file change of address forms as easily as the could have before.

Enabling Informed Delivery

Whether you’re moving or not, Informed Delivery is a free tool you can take advantage of by creating an account with USPS.

Thanks to modern technology, USPS offers a valuable tool for defending against mail theft—Informed Delivery. By setting up an online account, you can opt to enable this feature, which provides you with notifications of the mail expected to arrive in your mailbox each day. Before the mail carrier even leaves the post office, you receive a picture of any mail scheduled for delivery.

Imagine you’re expecting a new credit card to be delivered by mail. Without Informed Delivery, you’d have no way of knowing when it will arrive or be able to suspect the possibility of theft. With this feature enabled, simply checking your email allows you to see if the credit card is being delivered that day. If it doesn’t appear, you can at least expect the possibility of fraud and take action before it’s too late.

How do you do it? This link will take you USPS’s informed delivery page where it will allow you register or sign in and enable it if you have an account already.

Creating an account takes minutes and can give you the peace of mind of knowing that your mail is safe. So, if you haven’t already, take the time to create an online account with USPS, enable Informed Delivery, and don’t forget to file a change of address form next time you move.