Postal Inspectors are warning people to protect their personal information. As technology advances, criminals are finding new ways to steal your personal information, and in turn, your money.
"The bad guys are calling in with all the personal identifying information of the victims," said U.S. Postal Inspector Carla Menedez.
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And once they do that, they essentially can get access to your credit card account. Crooks can add themselves as users to get their own card with their name on it and start charging on your account.
"The bad guys are going in and buying electronic and going to pawn shops to get cash," said Menedez.
Postal Inspectors seized many large ticket items purchased in one scam including big screen TVs and video game systems. In one case, losses totaled $120,000. But inspectors got a big break.
"The bad guy wasn't very smart in this case. He purchased two moneygram money orders from a local merchant and when he went in to purchase the money order, he actually wrote his real name and his real address down on the money order," explained Menedez.
That led them to the suspect's home.
"Through our investigations we were able to find the victim's credit card in the suspect's trash," the Inspector added.
This is just one of many cases. Account takeover fraud was up dramatically in 2012 totaling $4.9 billion - a 69 percent increase over 2011.
Some advice from Postal Inspectors: safeguard your personal information at all times.
"One thing we always recommend is to check your credit report once a year to make sure nothing fraudulent has happened to your credit," said Menedez.
Also, never carry your social security with you. Leave it at home in a safe place.