Utah Postal Inspectors and Postal Consumer Affairs Office to Reach Out to Seniors During National Consumer Protection Week

“Don’t Fall For a Fake Check Scam”

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Postal Inspectors and the postal Consumer Affairs Office in Utah will be reaching out to senior citizens during National Consumer Protection Week, March 2-8.

Using the theme “Don’t Fall For a Fake Check Scam,” Ron Hubrich, Manager, Consumer Affairs for the Postal Service in Utah, and U.S. Postal Inspectors will visit two Senior Centers in the Salt Lake valley (see schedule below). They will educate consumers about fraudulent schemes and provide them with the tools and information needed to combat these “fake check” frauds.

The facts are telling: According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the number of reported fake checks is increasing, from an average of 593 per month in 2004 to an average of 787 per month in 2007. The amount of reported losses from fake check scams has also quadrupled over the past three years. According to the National Consumers League, victims lose an average $3,000 to $4,000.

The Postal Service will point customers to the website established by the Postal Inspection Service and its business partners, www.FakeChecks.org.

National Consumer Protection Week is a national program led by the Federal Trade Commission to draw attention to issues and ideas that help customers become smarter consumers of products, materials and services and improve their knowledge of how to combat fraud of any type.

National Consumer Protection Week Schedule of visits:

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 – 11:15 a.m.
Liberty Senior Center
251 East 700 South
Salt Lake City, Utah

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 – 12:15 p.m.
South Jordan Senior Center
10778 South Redwood Rd
South Jordan, Utah

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.