USPS Informed Delivery -Sign Up Before ID Thieves Do
BY Travel Writer
Do you get checks, tax documents, bank statements, credit cards, or legal documents in the mail? Sign up for USPS informed delivery on the USPS website.
If you don’t, thieves could sign up first in your name and be informed before you are as to what is being delivered to you and whether it is worth stealing your mail before you have a chance to even get to your mail.
What the USPS informed delivery service does
Informed delivery is free and sends you a daily email with a digital preview of the mail you are to receive (images of the front of your letter-sized envelopes and manage packages scheduled to arrive). Informed Delivery benefits the entire household by allowing users to view what is coming to their mailbox whenever, wherever – even while traveling – on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. The postal services’ automated equipment does not image some mail pieces (e.g., catalogs or magazines) and will not appear in your Informed Delivery notification. If a scan is detected on these types of mailpieces, users will see a message stating, “A mailpiece for which we do not currently have an image is included in today’s mail.”
Is USPS Informed Delivery Available to Businesses?
Is Informed Delivery® available to businesses?
The feature is available to residential consumers and to eligible personal PO Box™ addresses. Some eligible businesses, but not all businesses, are eligible to receive the informed delivery service.
Why USPS informed delivery is important to claim for your name and address
Ironically, the same convenience of Informed Delivery that allows you to prevent ID theft can also encourage it, if you don’t sign up before an aspiring thief. The requirements to enroll in the service are few and basic. The information is public information, such as the cities and addresses of prior residences and the sale price of a home. A good thief can find these with a few keystrokes on the computer. And while not common, it has happened and continues to do so. Enroll today, I have and I’m very happy with the service.
Upgrade to a locking or security mailbox to keep your mail safe from theft
While more expensive than a regular mailbox, one designed with a lock has the additional benefit that the mailbox tends to be larger, and you can, therefore, leave for a couple of days and not bother a neighbor to pick up your mail or stop it with the postal service and know that it is secure. Easy to install a security mailbox works so that you can only retrieve delivered mail by opening the lock with a key to access the secure compartment.
