Postal Service Observes National Consumer Protection Week

Postal Inspectors and City of Virginia Beach Office of Consumer Affairs
Team Up to Offer Tools to Survive Today’s Economy

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — National Consumer Protection Week, set for March 1-7, is a week of activities sponsored primarily by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to draw attention to fraud and other threats to consumers.

The Postal Service, Postal Inspection Service, and City of Virginia Beach Office of Consumer Affairs will host informational displays to increase public awareness of fraudulent schemes and identity theft at the following locations:

• Virginia Beach Main Post Office, 501 Viking Dr (at the corner of Lynnhaven Parkway)
• Princess Anne Station Post Office, 2509 George Mason Dr (behind the Municipal Center)
• Virginia Beach Central Library, 4100 Virginia Beach Blvd. (informational materials will be available today through next weekend at this location)

On Thursday, March 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Rosalind Roland, Postal Inspector and Cathy Parks, Coordinator for the City of Virginia Beach Office of Consumer Affairs, will be at the Virginia Beach Main Post Office to educate consumers with DVDs and brochures warning against fraudulent financial schemes and other common scams. Shred-it, the world’s leading on site document company, will also be at the Main Post Office during that time to give individuals the opportunity to have their confidential paper documents destroyed, free of charge.

“It is critical in today’s challenging economy that we give consumers tools to guard against losing their hard-earned money to fraud,” Roland said. “Spreading awareness makes it harder for criminals and helps our customers recognize fraudulent schemes such as reshipping scams, Internet fraud, and work-at-home schemes. Awareness is one commodity that retains its value.” Roland also recommended visiting http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov and www.fakechecks.org for information needed combat fraudulent schemes and identity theft.

According to the National Consumers League, reported losses from one type of mail fraud alone – fraudulent schemes – quadrupled in three years. Each victim of this type of scam loses an average of $4,000. According to the FTC, as little as 2 percent of all victims reported that the identity crimes they experienced were through the U.S. Mail.