Bay County Sheriff’s deputies are warning residents about a scam in which a phony post office website charges a fee for address changes.
On Monday, deputies say they were alerted to the scam, after receiving complaints from two local victims. They say they were told to change their address with the U.S. Postal Service via an online website.
But, authorities say after using the website, not only were their addresses not changed, the victims paid a 40 dollar fee for the non-service.
The U.S. Postal Inspector warns customers that the postal service is not affiliated with any business that owns websites offering a change of address for a fee.
In cases where someone submits a “Change of Address” order, there is a charge of $1.05 for identity verification purposes on their website: www.usps.com.
But, officials say customers can change their mailing address free of charge by mailing or submitting the form in person at their local postal office.
The Postal Service processed more than 38 million address changes in 2013, but inspector say they found some customers paid for a change of address on website with domain names that appear to be associated with the Postal Service, but are not.
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