im a bit confused as to the efficacy of this service and the layer of protection its suposed to provide. ive done a search but have not found a good answer.
the idea is to have your mail/packages delivered to an alternate and anonymous address, that in turn will reship your goods to a final address/po box.. its recomended that you pay via cash or money order for this service in the security section, but i fail to see the point as you MUST submit USPS Mail Forwarding Form 1583 in its entirety. This of course requires a valid photo id, social securit card, or credit card. (even a prepaid credit card requires a valid social security number, so even thats not a viable option). So where is the anonymity? no matter what, you are in efect mailing it to yourself, except now your waiting longer and paying someone 120$ a year to do it.. can someone please explain to me how this is any way protects you? everyone except the vendor knows "exactly" who you are, and where you live, even if your packages are never sent there.. thanks all 
PS as an aside, USPS Mail Forwarding Form 1583 compels the remailer to divulge your identity without a warrant,so the layer of protection is seemingly completetly non existent..
Privacy Act Statement PS Form 1583, August 2000 (Page 2 of 2) "Privacy Act Statement: The collection of this information is authorized by 39 USC 403 and 404. This information will be used to authorize the delivery of the intended addressee's mail to another. The Postal Service may disclose this information to an appropriate government agency, domestic or foreign, for law enforcement purposes; where pertinent, in a legal proceeding to which the USPS is a party or has an interest; to a government agency in order to obtain or provide information relevant to an agency decision concerning employment, security clearances, contracts, licenses, grants, permits or other benefits; to a congressional office at your request; to an expert, consultant, or other person under contract with the USPS to fulfill an agency function; to the Federal Records Center for storage; and for the purpose of identifying an address as an address of an agent to whom mail is delivered on the behalf of other persons. Information concerning an individual who has filed an appropriate protected court order with the postmaster will not be disclosed in any of the above circumstances except pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Completion of this form is voluntary; however, without the information, the mail will be withheld from delivery to the agent and delivered to the addressee, or, if the address of the addressee is that of the agent, returned to the sender."
Edited by zanpaktou (08/31/08 04:51 PM)
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