Security Alert: How US Postal Service’s Informed Delivery works

Gone are the days of opening your mailbox to a surprise card. Now, you can find out exactly what is being delivered before you even head out the door, but is informed delivery something you should be signing up for?

How informed delivery works: You sign up with the U.S. Postal Service, and you get a picture every day of what they’re putting in your mailbox.

It’s a great tool to take advantage of if you know someone’s been stealing your mail and even if they haven’t.

If you’re not signed up for this service, someone else like a crook could sign up for you.

Then, they would be getting a picture of your mail and know if there’s something worth stealing.

“He’s getting your bank statements or your credit cards or your holiday gift cards that may contain gift cards money and what not,” Carrie Kerskie, an identity theft expert said. “Especially around tax time because all the tax forms are gonna be mailed out the first of the year. All the W-2s, these 1099s, these typically have social security numbers on them.”

If you believe someone else signed you up for informed delivery, go to the USPS inspections website and file a complaint.