# Risks of giving out mailing address? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 7, 2025, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720 "2025-04-07T03:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/21 "2025-04-08T04:36:29Z")
For what it’s worth, I’ve been eBaying on and off for a couple decades, using my real home address to send things to strangers. I haven’t been murdered yet. Typically if someone knows your name, it’s just a paid (or even free) white pages search to find your home address anyway, especially if you’re a homeowner. It’s mostly public records. It’s probably not a great risk. But if you want to do it and want more peace of mind, just rent a mailbox for a month… it only takes a few min and usually less than like $20. If you’re particularly famous or aspiring to be, maybe that’s worth it? Or if you suspect yourself of having enemies. Or just print out some samples again and sign them and mail them and have him Paypal/Venmo you postage for it. You can put any return address you want on it, including General Delivery or any fake thing that you make up. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/22 "2025-04-08T04:43:54Z")
I would also be concerned about sending my signature. Maybe disguise it a bit if you decide to do this? That was the first thing I thought of when I read your post. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/23 "2025-04-08T04:49:02Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > I would also be concerned about sending my signature. Is there anything that would actually check your signature…? Doesn’t every restaurant and coffee shop employee have access to them anyway? I’ve never actually had anyone compare my signature to another source or otherwise verify it beyond “they made a mark, yes”. I routinely sign my credit card slips with squiggles and mountains and cartoons and nobody has ever said anything. What kind of institution would actually check a signature? Against which “official” source? And doesn’t every celebrity, artist, president, minor politician, business officer etc. leave their signature over all sorts of public documents anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/24 "2025-04-08T04:56:55Z")
It could be totally innocent. I don’t know the details of this particular situation. But it was the first thing that popped into my mind. And yes our signatures are everywhere. Just something about this raised a bit of caution. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/25 "2025-04-08T12:04:18Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I wouldn’t mind giving my address. 1000s have it. Hell - my address is posted in big numbers ON THE FRONT OF MY HOUSE! 😃 Several folk have mentioned alternatives to giving your address, but I have not yet seen anyone expressing actual risks to doing so. And certainly not worth the (limited) time/expense of a workaround for this one-off transaction. I’m not sure what such risks would be. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/26 "2025-04-08T12:45:38Z")
The biggest risk that comes to mind for me is that IF you let people know when you are out of town, such as publicly viewable vacation pictures on social media, and IF your address is known, then people might assume your house is empty and available for theft. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/27 "2025-04-08T13:25:32Z")
I dunno. Yes, we may not pinpoint a specific risk, but the OP already has reservation in sharing their home address with a stranger, and to me that’s enough to cancel the idea. If a stranger asked me for my home address I wouldn’t give it. Yeah, if someone knows my name they could go thru the trouble of looking it up, but why make it easy for them? Do other artists freely give out their address to anyone who flatters them? Maybe I am over cautious, but in this case there seems to be no upside and all (potential) downside and risk. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/28 "2025-04-08T16:39:28Z")
No one who speaks German could be an evil man. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/29 "2025-04-08T18:54:15Z")
> [@mjmartin](#): > > Before you worry about getting a temporary address, google yourself. If searching your name and town comes up with your address, it’s probably not worth worrying about whether this guy gets your address from the SASE. This. Your address is probably already out there. And it’s probably not a huge deal. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/30 "2025-04-08T19:04:27Z")
This reminds me of people blocking their lisc. plates in pix. Good grief, every body and their dog can see it everytime you’re driving. Blocking it in a photo is lame. There’s nothing wrong with autographs on art work. Kinda the point, really. For prosterity. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/31 "2025-04-08T19:10:42Z")
> [@mjmartin](#): > > google yourself. If searching your name and town comes up with your address I tried that just now. None of the links that came up revealed my address, but several showed my phone number and one had a video that showed part of the inside of my house. I wouldn’t have predicted that. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/32 "2025-04-08T19:14:26Z")
Wow. Where did that video come from? I’m guessing a realtor thing. I’ve seen addresses show a street view on Google, but never inside a house. You can clearly see cars with lisc. plates on lots of them. And street names and numbers. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/33 "2025-04-08T19:32:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Where did that video come from? A friend was visiting, and she took a short video of her husband reading on the lanai, then posted it to Instagram. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/34 "2025-04-09T14:21:43Z")
I tried it for me. The second link included my phone number, and the fourth had my full address. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/35 "2025-04-09T14:59:48Z")
I googled myself, and I happen to share the same name as a published writer, so most of the hits are for that person, along with a few other people with the same name (within other apps, obits). I’m nowhere to be found at that level - too much noise. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/36 "2025-04-09T17:23:14Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > I googled myself, and I happen to share the same name as a published writer, so most of the hits are for that person, Did you include your town of residence? I share a real-life name with a lot of people, some of whom have a pretty significant internet footprint. If I Google my name only, there is a ton of noise. But if I Google my name plus where I live (a hamlet of 400 people), the noise goes away. I don’t know that anyone else with my name has made it to my town of residence. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/37 "2025-04-09T17:33:12Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Did you include your town of residence? Oh, good point! Added that and yes, there I am! Sheesh, I feel like someone pulled away my fig leaf! ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/38 "2025-04-09T17:45:41Z")
This is why the whole post is a little confusing to me. Between google, the registry of deeds, town tax assessor information, state voter registration information (all publicly available on the internet), a mailing address is far from secret. And that is just from the free resources. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/39 "2025-04-09T18:01:46Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > > [@snowthx](#): > > > > Versus the potential risks/downside? > > That’s exactly why I posted this: to get a sense of what the actual risks and downsides are. What about what I suggested; just have the German fan send the SASE to the client for whom you made the creative work? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2025, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720/40 "2025-04-09T18:06:09Z")
Is General Delivery still available? You used to be able to send mail to a specific post office to be picked up by a named person. This did work if you had no street address. I suppose the PO might decide to deliver it to you anyway based on your name but the sender still wouldn’t know your street address. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/risks-of-giving-out-mailing-address/1016720.md?page=1)