If someone is using your address without permission, act quickly on four fronts: return the unopened mail with “Not at This Address” written on it, document what’s arriving, file reports with the agencies that match the misuse (Postal Inspection Service, FTC, IRS, Social Security, your state election or business office), and protect your credit with a fraud alert or freeze. If you know who’s doing it, a cease-and-desist letter and a civil injunction are available after the government channels.
Signs Your Address Is Being Misused
Mail arriving for someone who doesn’t live with you is the clearest signal. Watch for bank statements, pre-approved credit offers, insurance paperwork, and government notices in unfamiliar names. Letters from a state motor vehicle agency or a social services office suggest someone listed your address to obtain a license or public benefits.
Debt collector calls asking for a stranger point the same direction. Collection agencies match debtor names to addresses in public records, so a call like that usually means someone put your address on a credit application.
Your credit report also carries the evidence. Each report includes an address history section listing every address tied to your file. An address you’ve never lived at — or someone else’s activity causing your address to show up on their accounts — can affect your creditworthiness. Free reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are available through AnnualCreditReport.com.
USPS Informed Delivery is a free service that emails grayscale previews of letter-sized mail headed to your address each morning.1USPS. Informed Delivery – Mail and Package Notifications If the scans show names you don’t recognize, you have evidence before the mail reaches your box. Informed Delivery also helps you catch a fraudulent change-of-address: if mail you expect appears in the preview but never arrives, someone may have redirected it. USPS takes reports of change-of-address scams at 1-877-876-2455 or through the Postal Inspection Service.2USPIS. Change of Address Scams
Handle the Mail Without Opening It
Do not open mail addressed to anyone else, even if you believe it’s evidence of fraud. Federal law makes it a crime to take undelivered mail and open or destroy it with intent to obstruct the recipient’s correspondence or pry into their affairs. A conviction can bring a fine, up to five years in prison, or both.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1702 Obstruction of Correspondence
Write “Not at This Address” on the unopened envelope and put it back in your mailbox or hand it to your carrier. “Refused” also works to trigger a return to sender.4USPS. Refuse Unwanted Mail and Remove Name From Mailing Lists Packages addressed to a stranger can be refused without paying return postage, as long as you haven’t opened them.
When the mail keeps coming, visit your local post office and ask to speak with the Postmaster. A written request can direct the post office to withhold delivery of mail for specific names that don’t belong at your address, and under USPS policy that withholding can last up to two years.4USPS. Refuse Unwanted Mail and Remove Name From Mailing Lists Telling your regular carrier about the names helps too, since they can filter those items manually.
Document Before You Report
Keep a log of every piece of unauthorized mail: date, sender, and the recipient name. Photograph the front of each envelope so you have a visual record. Leave the envelopes sealed.
You’ll also need proof that you own or legally occupy the address. A deed, signed lease, or recent utility bill in your name works. Reporting forms for the Postal Inspection Service, the FTC, and the credit bureaus ask for this documentation, and most forms also have a field for the name of the person using your address if you know it.
Where to File Reports
Which agencies you contact depends on how your address is being used. Each report generates a case number you can reference later with creditors or bureaus.
Local Police
File a report with your local department even if the police don’t actively investigate. The report creates an official record that creditors, credit bureaus, and other agencies often require, and the case number is needed to place an extended fraud alert on your credit file. Ask for a copy.
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
The Postal Inspection Service handles mail-related fraud. File a complaint through the agency’s online portal and submit copies of your evidence rather than originals, keeping the originals yourself.5USPIS. USPIS Mail Fraud Complaint You’ll receive a case number after submission.
Federal Trade Commission
If the address misuse is tied to identity theft — accounts opened or government paperwork filed in your name — go to IdentityTheft.gov. The site generates an FTC Identity Theft Report and a personalized recovery plan.6Federal Trade Commission. IdentityTheft.gov – Report Identity Theft and Get a Recovery Plan The report functions as a formal affidavit that banks and credit bureaus accept when you ask them to remove fraudulent account records.7Federal Trade Commission. Report Identity Theft
IRS
If you receive IRS correspondence about a return you didn’t file, submit Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit, with a paper tax return mailed to the IRS office for your state.8Internal Revenue Service. Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit The IRS places an identity theft indicator on your account and works to remove fraudulent returns from your records.9Internal Revenue Service. IRS Identity Theft Victim Assistance – How It Works Business tax fraud uses Form 14039-B.
Social Security Administration
If someone appears to be using your address to collect Social Security or SSI benefits, report it to the SSA Office of the Inspector General. The fraud hotline is 1-800-269-0271; the fax is 1-410-597-0118; the mailing address is Social Security Fraud Hotline, P.O. Box 17785, Baltimore, MD 21235-7785. Reports can be anonymous.10Social Security Administration. How Do I Report Fraud in the Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or Medicare Programs
Voter Registration
If someone registered to vote at your address, report it to your state, local, or territorial election office. Suspected voter fraud can also go to a local FBI office, a U.S. attorney’s office, or the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.11USAGov. Voter Fraud, Voter Suppression, and Other Election Crimes
Business Registration
Someone can also register a business or LLC at your home, bringing collection notices, tax mail, and court documents to your door. Search your state Secretary of State’s business database — most states offer a free online lookup — for any entity using your address. If you find one, report it to the Secretary of State and your state Attorney General, and file a complaint with the Postal Inspection Service.
Protect Your Credit
When your address is linked to fraudulent accounts, your credit file can pick up those connections. Three tools limit the damage.
Disputing an Address on Your Credit Report
If an unfamiliar address appears in your address history, dispute it with each bureau that lists it. Send a letter explaining the error, attach proof of your actual address (utility bill or lease), and mail it certified with return receipt. The bureau has 30 days to investigate and respond.12Federal Trade Commission. Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports Online or phone disputes also work:
- Equifax: (866) 349-5191
- Experian: (888) 397-3742
- TransUnion: (800) 916-8800
If one bureau finds the information inaccurate, it must notify the other two so they can correct their records.12Federal Trade Commission. Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports
Fraud Alert
A fraud alert tells lenders to verify your identity before opening new credit in your name. Contact one bureau and it must notify the other two. An initial alert lasts one year and can be renewed. With an FTC Identity Theft Report or a police report, you can place an extended alert that lasts seven years.13Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
Credit Freeze
A freeze is stronger. While it’s active, no new credit account can be opened in your name — not even by you. Placing and lifting a freeze is free under federal law.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 Identity Theft Prevention Fraud Alerts You must contact all three bureaus separately, and a freeze requested by phone or online must be in place within one business day. It stays until you ask for it to be removed.13Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
To have fraudulent accounts permanently blocked from your file, send each bureau an identity theft report from IdentityTheft.gov, proof of your identity, and a letter identifying each fraudulent item.15Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Do I Do if I Have Been a Victim of Identity Theft
Civil Options When You Know Who It Is
If you know the person and the agency reports haven’t stopped the behavior, you have private remedies. A cease-and-desist letter from an attorney puts the person on formal notice and demands they update their records immediately.
If the letter is ignored, you can ask a court for a civil injunction ordering the person to stop using your address. Violating an injunction can bring contempt-of-court penalties, which vary by jurisdiction and may include fines or jail. Filing fees differ by court.
Where the misuse has caused measurable financial harm — costs to correct your credit, certified mailings, lost wages — you may be able to recover those damages in a lawsuit. Many jurisdictions let smaller claims be filed in small claims court without an attorney, though dollar limits and procedures vary by state.