I'm interested in a postal box w/ a physical address for various reasons. One reason is arms length privacy to entities which will know the address - don't want traceability to my real address.

I've looked at a couple of common providers - they want proof of ID and address which defeats the purpose of what I want.

Are there any providers, reasonably priced, that allow for an anonymous box (well, other than name - no other personally identifiable info). Or is that illegal?

These guys might have what you are looking for.

www.anytimemailbox.com

I think everyone will require knowing who the renter really is, just in case the address is used for nefarious purposes and they have to comply with a warrant.

And of course, they want to know who go after if the PO Box rent becomes delinquent.

Do you own a home ? Pay property taxes ? Have utilities in your name ?
Your traceable ...

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Do you own a home ? Pay property taxes ? Have utilities in your name ?
Your traceable ...

How? If I get a mailbox, how do they trace the mailbox to me specifically if all they know is my name Joe Bob? How does a vendor that sends something to me at the mailbox figure it out?

quote:

Originally posted by Pyker:
I think everyone will require knowing who the renter really is, just in case the address is used for nefarious purposes and they have to comply with a warrant.

And of course, they want to know who go after if the PO Box rent becomes delinquent.

I'd pre-pay for 1 year. Nefarious purposes makes presumptions that may be true even if I give (a fake/temporary) address.

quote:

Originally posted by 95flhr:
These guys might have what you are looking for.

www.anytimemailbox.com

Interesting. Need to look at this more. I'm not getting it but only skimmed the page.

This is not 1960. Most people can track you down with Google. If someone is really interested in finding you, there is nothing you can do to keep a determined person from finding you.

I get the idea of making it more difficult, but you obviously have internet, a cell phone, utilities, etc..... All of those things keep digital records.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

How? If I get a mailbox, how do they trace the mailbox to me specifically if all they know is my name Joe Bob? How does a vendor that sends something to me at the mailbox figure it out?

When I was a detective we used several data bases that were available to the public-you just had to pay their subscription to get it....most of the time all I needed to start was a name and a city....things were easily narrowed down after that.

If you own anything, boat, car, trailers, motorcycles or pay property taxes on those same items, you can be found within minutes.

If fact, in 2000 the city had a bound book listing homeowners that was printed annually and could be cross referenced..(they intentionally left out police/sheriffs/judges from the book....in about 2004 the city went digital and we were easy to find by just pulling up tax records on city/county GIS....I searched my info based on my signature on the tickets I issued...my initial and last name. Found my home within a minute.

There is no more being hidden. You can be found, save the money you would have spent on the box and go have a nice dinner with your wife.

I can't really answer that question, but I am friends with a few ladies who rent a post office box at a place like the UPS Store.

They have a physical address they can give someone for whatever reason they deem necessary.

As noted above, anyone is easily found within minutes on the internet.

If you want a snail mail address that is somewhat, but really not the same, as a throw away email address, just look at a UPS Store or equivalent, or many of the neighborhood pack and ship places that have mailboxes on the premises.

But if he is using the name Joe Blow, Jr. at 1414 East 50th Street that would be pretty disconnected from Mr. Konata 88 at 1750 Spring Valley Road.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Do you own a home ? Pay property taxes ? Have utilities in your name ?
Your traceable ...

How? If I get a mailbox, how do they trace the mailbox to me specifically if all they know is my name Joe Bob? How does a vendor that sends something to me at the mailbox figure it out?

I'm speaking in general terms . You said you want to be untraceable .

I had to deliver a weedwacker to Cowpens SC yesterday. When I arrived the address I was given did not exist. I tried but could not reach the recipient or my company.

I googled the person's name and a FB post from 2018 popped up - it was the Cowpens PD announcing that so-and-so (and picture) had joined the department. Called the PD, city hall, etc., couldn't reach anyone (it was after 4 pm).

I decided to physically go to the PD so maybe they could contact him to see if he was the person, but before I did I went to the next closest address to what I was given, and that was the person. And yes, he had joined the PD.

quote:

Originally posted by 95flhr:
These guys might have what you are looking for.

www.anytimemailbox.com

It's not clear to me what they are offering. They talk about digital mail. I found this in their FAQ:



Oh, and now you have to watch an ad first before posting on Imgur.

Five pounds of Kush delivered to Joe Blow will not be suspicious at all.

On a serious note, people like Whitey Bulger were successful for a LONG time. No credit cards, paid everything in cash, got his prescription meds in Mexico led a low key life.

I was a Private Investigator for a time. No estate in Hawaii or Ferrari.
The only things that keeps someone determined to locate you is time, determination and money. You can make yourself somewhat more difficult to pin down, but for most people it is very difficult to do. Old habits, family, work or hobbies can give you away.
I once used a dog license as way to tract down a skipper.
Suggestion:
If you have an attorney you trust, and he is willing to do so, ask him if you can use his office as an address. And then ask him to inform you if anyone inquires about you.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I'm interested in a postal box w/ a physical address for various reasons. One reason is arms length privacy to entities which will know the address - don't want traceability to my real address.

I've looked at a couple of common providers - they want proof of ID and address which defeats the purpose of what I want.

Are there any providers, reasonably priced, that allow for an anonymous box (well, other than name - no other personally identifiable info). Or is that illegal?

I've been looking into this for some time as we'll be travelling extensively. They're called mail forwarding services. For those who choose to be homeless, you can sign up for one in a state that has no income taxes. They have a town in Texas that is all geared up for this to make you a legal Texas resident while you travel about.

If you want to keep things simple, you can get one with an address in your actual state.

The services they provide is scanning the envelopes you receive. Then you tell them which ones you want them to scan and email to you. Or they can physically forward mail and packages to you.

Here are two I found. google Mail Forwarding Service.

https://www.virtualpostmail.com/

https://physicaladdress.com/pricing/