Barrhaven resident is on the hunt for missing mail
Michael Wood says his mail is being forwarded to an unknown address
A man from Barrhaven says his mail, which contains sensitive financial information, has been hijacked
Michael Wood says he woke up to a notice this morning that his mail is being forwarded; he was puzzled because he says he didn't fill out the form.
Wood says a call to Canada Post confirmed his mail is being sent to a different address, but didn't provide him with the answers he was looking for.
"I asked them to give me an address where my mail was being forwarded and they say that is a privacy breach," says Wood. "Due to the privacy act, they cannot tell me where my mail is being forwarded."
Wood says he halted the forwarding service but is concerned about the fact that his mail has been re-routed for several days.
"In my mail I've got credit card bills, I've got banking information, mortgage information. So really private, sensitive stuff that is being forwarded to someone else" says Wood.
Canada Post spokesperson Phil Legault says there is an authentication process for online and in-person services.
Legault says when incidents of mail forwarding occur that are suspect, Canada Post's Security and Investigations team investigate and follow up with local police.
Canada Post would not provide any information on how often incidents like this happen.
"It's disheartening but I think the most important thing is that people know this could happen to them," says Wood. "I live a pretty quiet life in Barrhaven. To think that somebody had enough gall to ... redirect my mail, I'm really not that interesting."
Michael Wood says he woke up to a notice this morning that his mail is being forwarded; he was puzzled because he says he didn't fill out the form.
Wood says a call to Canada Post confirmed his mail is being sent to a different address, but didn't provide him with the answers he was looking for.
"I asked them to give me an address where my mail was being forwarded and they say that is a privacy breach," says Wood. "Due to the privacy act, they cannot tell me where my mail is being forwarded."
Wood says he halted the forwarding service but is concerned about the fact that his mail has been re-routed for several days.
"In my mail I've got credit card bills, I've got banking information, mortgage information. So really private, sensitive stuff that is being forwarded to someone else" says Wood.
Canada Post spokesperson Phil Legault says there is an authentication process for online and in-person services.
Legault says when incidents of mail forwarding occur that are suspect, Canada Post's Security and Investigations team investigate and follow up with local police.
Canada Post would not provide any information on how often incidents like this happen.
"It's disheartening but I think the most important thing is that people know this could happen to them," says Wood. "I live a pretty quiet life in Barrhaven. To think that somebody had enough gall to ... redirect my mail, I'm really not that interesting."
http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-man-says-identity-thieves-duped-canada-post-to-divert-his-mail-1.2838723
Ottawa man says identity thieves duped Canada Post to divert his mail
Michael Wood holds the notice confirming that his mail was being forwarded to another address. March 30, 2016
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CTV Ottawa
Published Wednesday, March 30, 2016 5:20PM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, March 30, 2016 5:27PM EDT
Michael Wood is still looking for answers.
The Ottawa man says he became the victim of identity theft after someone hijacked his mail.
About a week and a half ago the Barrhaven resident received a confirmation from Canada Post that his mail had been successfully forwarded to another address. The problem is Wood had never applied to have his mail forwarded.
“After speaking with the Postal Inspector, it had been determined that the person who had forwarded my mail did it online, that they had paid $117 to have my mail forwarded,” Wood said.
Wood also learned that, within days, someone had applied for 7 different credit cards in his name, presumably using the personal and financial information contained in his mail.
Wood’s first instinct was to ask Canada Post where his mail was going. The crown corporation refused to tell him, saying it would be a breach of privacy. He says he was told to contact the Ottawa Police. “And the first question that the police had for me is where is your mail being forwarded to?” he recalls. “And I told them I don’t know. And the police said, well we can’t open a file.”
Wood has since spent a lot of time on the phone to Canada Post, the police, banks, and credit agencies, trying to reclaim his identity. He can’t be 100% sure, but it appears he is now getting all his mail.
What is far less certain is how someone could get his mail forwarded in the first place.
Anick Losier. Director, Media Relations at Canada Post, would only say “We are aware of Mr. Wood’s case and are currently investigating.” Losier adds “When a request for mail forwarding is made, the process involves a number of steps to authenticate the identity of the requestor.”
Michael Wood says he was told it involves four security questions based on his personal history. He says he doesn’t know what those questions are, let alone who could possibly have answered them.
He says he hasn’t heard from Canada Post or the police since he lodged his complaint, so he has yet to understand how it happened or how to prevent it from happening again. “When you realize that all of your information has been sent out somewhere all you really want to do is get a straightforward answer as to how are we going to fix this?”
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