Identity thieves are now going to great lengths to attempt to steal your identity, with scammers latching onto a relatively easy way by using a loophole in the post office’s change-of-address system. Change-of-address forms are readily available at any post office. All you have to do is fill out the card and drop it into the nearest mailbox. Scammers will then collect your mail at a vacant home or a fake address. Police say that the crooks are usually long gone by the time victims complain. A 2008 Inspector General report warned that “the postal service should improve controls to ensure that proper authorization and validation of a Change of Address request.” Postal officials say that letters are sent to both the original and the new address once a request has been submitted, so that you will get some warning if someone else has forwarded your mail, so that you can take the steps to cancel it at your post office. The post office also says that change-of-address requests are made available online, where all you have to use is a credit card to pay a fee. That can be checked on a daily basis on whether the actual homeowner is ordering the change. The postal service also says that complaints like these are rare, but it continues to implement security enhancements.