Delivering Trust, Delivering Protection

U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service SupportNational Consumer Protection Week, March 6-12

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S.Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are joiningother federal, state and local government agencies and consumerprotection organizations to kick off the 13th annual NationalConsumer Protection Week (NCPW), March 6-12.

This year's theme -- Your Information Destination: ncpw.gov! --highlights a wealth of tips and information from federal and stategovernment and non-profit partner organizations on how consumers canprotect their privacy, stay safe online, manage their money, avoididentity theft, understand mortgages and steer clear of frauds andscams.

"The more educated consumers can become, the less likely theywill fall victim to identity theft and other scams," said DeloresKillette, Postal Service Consumer Advocate. "As in the past, thePostal Service is proud to play a key role in helping consumers stayinformed."

In recognition of NCPW 2011, the Postal Service and the PostalInspection Service are calling attention to free resources to helppeople protect their privacy and avoid identity theft and otherfraud schemes. Consumers can visit www.deliveringtrust.com for freefraud education and prevention videos about identity theft, work-at-home scams, Internet fraud, foreign lotteries, investment scams andmore. Viewers can follow the Chief Postal Inspector and PostalService Consumer Advocate as they walk through the top ten scams towatch for. The website also offers tips on recognizing scams andinstructions on reporting scammers to the appropriate authorities.

In addition, the Postal Inspection Service offers the followingtips for consumers to avoid becoming victims of fraud:

Know the warning signs: If it sounds too good to be true, itprobably is. Watch out for offers that apply pressure to act "rightaway," guarantee success, promise unusually high returns, require anupfront investment, don't have the look of a real business or justdon't feel right.

Know the facts: Banks will never e-mail or call for accountnumbers. There are no legitimate jobs that involve re-shipping itemsor financial instruments from home. Foreign lotteries are illegal inthe United States. If in doubt, check the company out with theBetter Business Bureau.

Play it safe: Never click on a link inside an e-mail to visit awebsite; instead, type the address in a Web browser. Retainreceipts, statements and packing slips, and review them foraccuracy. Place outgoing mail in the secure blue collection boxes,or deposit it in collection slots on the inside of a local PostOffice. Shred confidential documents instead of simply discardingthem in the trash.

Get involved: Point out "too good to be true" offers to kids andteach them to be skeptical. Take an active interest in the financialactivities of aging parents, especially if they're facing an illnessthat could make them more vulnerable. Share information about scamswith friends and family.

"In 2010, we launched www.deliveringtrust.com to help educate thepublic about the dangers of fraud," said Guy Cottrell, Chief PostalInspector. "This year we've prepared newspaper, radio and onlineadvertisements that are attention-getting and point customers to thewebsite, where they can learn more about avoiding scams and conartists. The Postal Inspection Service has several crime preventioninitiatives and public education campaigns. These efforts help toensure the public's trust in the U.S. Mail."

This week across the country, participating Post Offices willhost NCPW events to raise awareness of the most common fraudulentactivities and what consumers can do to protect themselves. ThePostal Service and the Postal Inspection Service are shining aspotlight on issues and ideas to help U.S. residents become betterconsumers.

Other national organizers of this year's NCPW include AARP,Better Business Bureau, Consumer Federation of America, FederalCitizen Information Center, Federal Communications Commission,Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve System,Federal Trade Commission, Internal Revenue Service, League of LatinAmerican Citizens, National Association of the Advancement ofColored People, National Association of Attorneys General, NationalConsumers League, National Council of La Raza, National FuturesAssociation, National Urban League, NeighborWorks America, NorthAmerican Securities Administrators Association, Office of theComptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision, SocialSecurity Administration, and U.S. Consumer Product SafetyCommission.

For more information about NCPW, visit www.ncpw.gov.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operatingexpenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and servicesto fund its operations.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Serviceis the only delivery service that reaches every address in thenation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes.The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses,and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund itsoperations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequentlyvisited website in the federal government, usps.com, the PostalService has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and deliversnearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private sectorcompany, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked thePostal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The PostalService has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency sixconsecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nationby the Ponemon Institute.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is the federal lawenforcement, security and crime prevention arm of the United StatesPostal Service that protects the U.S. Postal Service, secures thenation's mail system and ensures public trust in the mail. To learnmore, visit http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov.

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service