What if someone is using my address???

[bleedingheart]

I bought my home from the estate of a woman who died.

At first we would get mail addressed to her son but I figured that was normal. However... almost 8 years later we are still getting mail.

What we typically get are medical bills and today I got a returned voided check for a gas company.

They are addressed to this individual but as if he is living in my house.

I found a phone number for him and think that I should call. I am also thinking I should alert the police or someone because this appears to be some sort of fraud to me.

[Don_G]

1. I Would Notify The Firms Sending The Bills

Plus the Post Office. 8 years is a long time to get a continous stream of mail for the same individual.

[TrogL]

2. Tell the people sending the bills

Don't call the other person.

Write "no such person at this address" on the mail and give it to the post office.

[efhmc]

3. Do not even open the bill, simply put "no such person at this address"

and put them back in your mailbox. As a matter of fact, if they have another person's name on them, you really should not be opening them.

[bleedingheart]

5. I didn't open it.

But I did hold it up to the light and the fellow's voided check has my address on it..

[twilight]

7. I think I'd call the police

I have a similar (but not quite so drastic) situation going on with my phone #. The person that had it before I did is still using it and recently gave it out to a bank that the person was trying to get a loan from. The bank called looking for this person and I told them that this person was still giving out this # but they were not at this #.

I called up the telephone company to complain and to see what I could do and was advised that this is a form of fraud by using my #, as it is MY #. In your case, it is YOUR home and your address.

I'd definitely turn it over to the police because you never know if someone acutally might show up at your house looking for whoever this is. I agree with others, 8 years is a long time to be gone and still having mail pop-up. :shrug:

:dem:

[Heddi]

4. Yep. Call the people who are sending them

A few years ago, my husband and I lived in an apartment building. WHen we moved in, we got a new phone number, etc.

About 8 mos after we started moving in, we were getting calls from Bad-Check-Places asking for Shaniqua. Kept telling them no Shaniqua lived there.

Then we started getting her bad-check notices in the mail.

Once that happened, the next time one of the bad-check people called, I told them that we had moved in to the apartment in X month, and I *KNOW* the girl who lived there before us wasn't named Shaniqua, and that our phone number was new and hadn't been used before, and that I think that Shaniqua was pulling a fast one on them.

They were really appreciative that we told them that because otherwise (this is what they said), they would have figured that we were either covering for her, or that we were Shaniqua herself and lying.

A few months later, I believe that Shaniqua stole my tax refund check from my mailbox and forged my name, getting $686 that wasn't hers. Luckily, the IRS did a fraud investigation and re-issued a check for me a few months later.

Never can be too sure!!!

What you SHOULD do is look in the phonebook, or do an internet search for this dude and if you have to, get a really big manilla envelope, stuff all his shit in it and mail it to him with a Post Office Mail Forwarding Card with a note politely suggesting that he go ahead and change his address, you know, because it's only been eight fucking years :)

[bleedingheart]

6. as I stated above I didn't open the mail but

I held it up to the light and he is having out address printed on his checks...

That is suspicious.

[TreasonousBastard]

8. Doesn't sound so much like he's defrauding you....

but trying to stiff whoever's sending the bills.

Eight years you've been sending this stuff back to the post office? Or did it just start up again?

I'd start by just going down to the PO and telling them what's what. They're pretty good at handling this sort of thing. If they think it's mail fraud, they love to bust that. Local cops may not see any reason to get involved, and it'll get lost in the shuffle. Local cops may not know what to do anyway.

[bleedingheart]

9. I agree...he isn't defrauding me at this time but if he is planning

on writing some bad checks, I don't want to find my mailbox full of threatening letters from jilted merchants.

This issue had died down but every once in a while I would get mail to my house (typically bills from healthcare companies...that's is what I suspected since I didn't open em..)

I would always put on them..."return to sender...no longer at address"...

But this envelope today was paper thin.....so I was able to make out the returned check...which had my address on it.

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Identity theft I'd be worried about, but...

this is small time conniving, or so it seems.

I'd still leave it up to the post office for now. They'll tell the senders this guy doesn't live there any more.

Truth is, you really don't want any of these people to know who you are. If you contact them, that's when they get your name and phone number, and it gets on a contact list for the bill collectors. Just let the PO handle it, and you're out of the loop completely.

[bleedingheart]

11. I am taking the letter to the post office tomorrow to discuss the

matter before anything does get out of hand.

[davidinalameda]

12. my checks still have my old address on them

I wouldn't be too worried about it just yet

I still get mail at my parents house and I' haven't lived there for nearly 5 years