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When Johanna Stefanelli of Beltsville received a letter from Bank of America on May 29 thanking her for opening a new checking account, there was a small problem.

"I never opened up an account," Stefanelli said. "They said it had been opened up online."

Two days later, she received a letter from the U.S. Postal Service confirming she'd requested her mail be forwarded to a new address. Again, it wasn't her doing.

Stefanelli is one of a growing number of residents in the Washington, D.C.-metropolitan area who have been targeted in fraud schemes, said Jim Dow, U.S. Postal Inspector for the District.

"Not just the post office but also banking institutions around the country are seeing an upswing in this type of crime," said Dow, who declined to comment specifically on Stefanelli's case, which is an ongoing investigation. "It's probably because of the economy."

The Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center, received 275,284 online fraud complaints in 2008, 33 percent more than in 2007.

In 2008, the District and Maryland ranked third and fifth among states in complaints filed per capita. Credit and debit card fraud — representing 9 percent of all cases — was the third-most common type of crime, behind non-delivery of merchandise and auction fraud.

Many banks that once required photo I.D. when opening an account now make the service available online.

Karen Coakley, president of the Beltsville Citizens Association, said banks are sacrificing security in the name of convenience.

"It is one thing to order supplies and check balances online once you have an account," she said in a June 2 e-mail. "[But] new services and change in service should require face-to-face meetings with proof of identity."

Nicole Nastacie, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, said the company has a rigorous online verification process, which includes matching the applicant's name, address, date of birth and Social Security number to existing records.

The U.S. Postal Service also allows customers to file change of address forms online. Confirmation letters were sent to the applicant's new and old addresses starting in 1996 as an anti-fraud measure, said Baltimore U.S. Postal Inspector Frank Schissler.

"That doesn't preclude identity thieves from contacting your banks directly," he said. "In fact, that's a more common method."

Banks have long advised customers to protect sensitive personal information. The Postal Service recommends that citizens monitor their bank statements, retrieve mail quickly and take sensitive outgoing mail directly to the post office.

Stefanelli said she has always followed security tips such as shredding sensitive documents and guarding her Social Security number. She even plans to buy a lock for her mailbox.

"I try to stay on top of things as far as how to protect yourself," she said. "But I think nowadays it's almost impossible ... these crooks are pretty smart."