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Sixty-five-year-old Irene Sanchez has had the same problem for seven months.

She is not getting her mail.

Someone she does not know apparently filled out a “change of address” form, and she has had a lot of problems trying to change it back.

“I pay late fees on the water bill, I didn’t get my Chase debit card, and I didn’t get my social security code to update social security,” Sanchez said.

Just this week, Sanchez’s mail has started to trickle back to her mailbox.

Sanchez has worked hard on this infuriating problem, but she may have missed a crucial step early on because she did not know about it.

The Tools You Need to Tackle Mail Issues

Sanchez did not, until recently, contact the United States Postal Inspection Service.

USPIS is the oldest federal law enforcement organization, dating back to 1775, and investigates more than 200 types of crimes that violate federal law including mail fraud, identity theft, cybercrimes, and any crime involving the U.S. Mail.

Your problem with the mail literally becomes a federal case if you file a claim with USPIS, and they review every written complaint, according to Silvia Torres, a U.S. Postal Inspector based in Houston.

How long does it take for the organization to reach out once you file a complaint?

“It depends on the caseload. It really does, unfortunately, but it will get to an inspector,” Torres said.

Torres said that while your first step should be to check with your local post office to see if a problem can be resolved if a crime is suspected, customers should immediately report the incident to USPIS.

START HERE TO REPORT MAIL PROBLEMS INCLUDING THEFT AND FRAUD

Helpful Preventive Measure

To keep a better eye on your mail, USPS has rolled out “Informed Delivery” and more than 44,000,000 customers already use it.

The free service allows postal customers to see digital photos of mail on the way to their address and allows customers to better manage expected deliveries.

Users can access the service through a web-based interface or smartphone app.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT INFORMED DELIVERY START HERE