An regular storefront on a busy Los Angeles street was allegedly operating as a full-blown “fraud factory,” with experts saying it may have been the hub of dozens of identity theft schemes used to open lines of credit and secure fraudulent loans.
From the outside, the business looked like any other mailbox shop. A sign above the Burbank Boulevard storefront read “Mailbox LA,” while “Anytime Mailbox” branding covered the front window.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Pete Hish said what happened at the Burbank office is a new level of identity theft. CBS NEWS
At one point, dozens of metal mail boxes on the wall could be seen on the wall, but those are all gone now, with the front door left unlocked. CBS NEWS
Behind the doors, investigators say, was a key piece of an identity theft operation.
The location was tied to nearly 100 P.O. boxes, according to CBS LA, raising concerns that the addresses were being used to receive sensitive financial documents linked to stolen identities.
“What we’re looking at when we talk about this business is a fraud factory,” fraud expert David Maimon said.
“A fraud factory that people are walking past, running past, driving past every day and [they’re] none the wiser.”
“A fraud factory that people are walking past, running past, driving past every day and [they’re] none the wiser.” CBS NEWS
He said his company SentiLink — which helps banks find fraudulent activity — made the discovery of the alleged mail box store while investigating suspicious activity connected to it for one of his business clients.
“It essentially means a lot of identities we’re able to pin to this specific address, which are either synthetic or stolen identities,” Maimon said.
The alleged scammers were using stolen identities — or completely fabricated ones — to apply for loans and lines of credit, with the Burbank location listed as their mailing address.
A regular store front on a busy street in Los Angeles was hiding an alleged “fraud factory” experts say may be linked to dozens of stolen identities in attempts to get lines of credit or take out loans. CBS NEWS
SentiLink found that 80% of the addresses it investigated were being used to “create new bank accounts,” while 10% involved “the identities being used to try to take new loans” without the victims knowing what is happening.
Anytime Mailbox — a virtual mailbox service — said it had no connection to a “Mailbox LA” business.
The USPS also confirmed the location was never registered with the agency, a requirement for any private business that accepts mail through the postal service.
Maimon said the fact that the boxes have now vanished is another example of why it’s “harder to find” these alleged fraudulent businesses — and how easily they can “fly under the radar.”
The sign on the outside of the now empty store on Burbank Boulevard read “Mailbox LA” with “Anytime Mailbox” signage on the front window. CBS NEWS
“The fraud infrastructure keeps moving around, and this is a great example of how the infrastructure simply relocated from one place to another,” Maimon said.
LA County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Pete Hish said the Burbank office appears to be a new level of identity theft.
“It’s even more bold to open up an actual place where it appears that their only purpose is to receive stolen identity mail,” Hish said.
The report said attempts to contact the person listed as the owner of the shop were not successful. A Google search for the store also found no location.
The report noted of the people listed as having a PO Box there, only three got back to them who said they live overseas and have no connection to the address.
The California Post reached out to the USPS and the sheriff’s office for further comment.
