Fraudsters have been targeting Royal Mail customers by intercepting their post. They get your junk mail and use the offers to apply for credit cards and loans in your name.

This fraudulent activity starts by directing your mail to another address using Royal Mail’s redirection service.  This should only be used to send mail from your old address to your new home when you move and is supposed to reduce the risk of identity theft. But what if it’s not you that’s redirecting your post?

A recent victim was the BBC sports presenter John Inverdale. He noticed he hadn’t had any post for a month, but as there had been postal strikes in his area, he put it down to that. It was only when he bumped into his postman he discovered his name was on the redirection list.

It really does pay to be friendly with your postman; if you are known and your face and name are connected to your property, he could be the first line of defence.

Go to our Five Top Tips for Avoiding Financial Crime document