Alleged mailbox "fraud factory" hiding on busy California street, expert says

A storefront on Burbank Boulevard that once held roughly 100 P.O. boxes may be linked to a wave of suspected identity theft and fraud. A CBS California Investigates report examined how criminals can use these kinds of mailboxes to intercept stolen and fabricated identities.

Visitors to the location could see dozens of P.O. boxes on the wall earlier this year, but recently, the space was found to be cleared out, with the front door left unlocked, and the business still advertised on the front window.

The business operated under the name "Mailbox LA" and displayed signage for Anytime Mailbox — an international mail-center chain. Anytime Mailbox told CBS California Investigates that the Burbank location was not affiliated with its company, and the U.S. Postal Inspector confirmed the site was never registered with the USPS, a federal requirement for commercial mail facilities.

"What we're looking at when we talk about this business is a fraud factory," said CBS LA Fraud Expert David Maimon, who works with banks to identify fraudulent activity as Head of Fraud Insights at SentiLink. "A fraud factory that people are walking past, running past, driving past every day and [they're] none the wiser."

Maimon said one of his banking clients flagged the Burbank address after spotting suspicious activity tied to it.

"It essentially means a lot of identities we're able to pin to this specific address, which, according to our investigations, are either synthetic or stolen identities," Maimon said.

Maimon said the evidence suggests the thieves are using those identities to open bank accounts and take out loans without the victims' knowledge.

His research found that about 80% of the about 200 identities connected to the address were used to open new bank accounts, and roughly 10% were used to attempt to secure new loans, he said. Mail linked to the location included statements and cards from major issuers such as American Express and Capital One.

Maimon said opening a fraudulent mailbox business reflects a broader pattern of fraud operations relocating to avoid detection.

"The fraud infrastructure keeps moving around, and this is a great example of how the infrastructure simply relocated from one place to another," he said, adding that the mobility makes such operations "harder to find" and easier to run "under the radar."

CBS California Investigates is unaware of who moved the mailboxes or where they were moved to.

Rita, a San Fernando Valley landlord who asked that her last name not be shared for privacy reasons, said her rental property has received dozens o