Sign Up at USPS.com Today
The U.S. Postal Service offers a no-cost service called Informed Delivery that emails you a daily grayscale image of every piece of mail scheduled to arrive in your mailbox that day. It takes about five minutes to set up and costs nothing. It is also one of the most practical identity-theft defenses available — but only if you sign up before someone else does it in your name.
The Security Problem It Solves
Mail theft is not a minor issue. USPS Postal Inspectors report that theft complaints jumped more than 300 percent in recent years, and losses from stolen checks alone reached hundreds of millions of dollars. Criminals intercept bank statements, credit card offers, checks, and tax documents from physical mailboxes every day.
There is a catch worth knowing: scammers have figured out how to sign up for Informed Delivery using someone else's address. Once enrolled fraudulently, they see exactly when a new credit card, check, or sensitive document is headed to your mailbox — and can steal it before you retrieve your mail. Signing up yourself first is the only way to block someone from doing it in your name.
How to Sign Up
Go to USPS.com and search "Informed Delivery," or go directly to informeddelivery.usps.com. Create an account, verify your identity online (or in person at your post office if needed), and confirm your mailing address. You will begin receiving daily email previews within one to two business days.
Once enrolled, use it actively: if your preview shows a piece of mail that never arrives, report it to the Postal Inspection Service immediately. A missing bank statement or credit card caught in the first 24 hours is far easier to address than one discovered weeks later.
With care,
Mike Bridges
Founder, The O55 Report