When your clients move, they need to contact the post office to complete a change of address form to receive mail at their new residence. But a new scam is popping up that gets movers to change their address on the private business Web sites and then charges a fee for something your clients can do for a dollar — or free — on their own.
Some people are getting duped by performing random online searches for “address changes,” who then end up on a site run by private businesses that may charge $17 to $24 to file a simple change of address on the person’s behalf. The United States Post Offices Sites only charges $1 online and the service is free at any post office.
"Some people report they are charged a dollar at first [on these other sites], but then a short time later, there's another charge for additional services they did not knowingly purchase," says Miranda Perry with Scambook.com, an online complaint resolution site that has fielded several complaints about “change of address” scams recently.
About 150 customer complaints have been filed recently with the Better Business Bureau about one site in particular: Change-My-Address.com. This site's advertisements say “USPS(R) Change of Address Form. Fast & Secure Mail Forwarding.” A spokesperson with the company says that it states in several places online that it is not affiliated with the USPS, and that it is in compliance with all local, state, and federal laws.
Tell your clients that they can change their address by visiting the official United States Postal Service Web site and submit a request for $1, or they can visit their neighborhood post office and change their address for free.
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