Tag: USA

The U.S. Postal Service is asking mailers for input on the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

The act, enacted on Dec. 20, 2006, strengthens the authority of the renamed PRC and changes the form of regulatory oversight in many respects. In addition, it grants the USPS more autonomy in setting rates, particularly for its competitive products.

However, the USPS’s ability to increase rates for market-dominant products is limited by changes in the Consumer Price Index. Moreover, the legislation streamlines the USPS’s ability to introduce new postal products. The Act, the provisions of which must take effect by June 2008, also provides for predictable annual price changes.

The USPS said it is currently working with the PRC on the best time to implement these price changes, and is it is seeking feedback from the mailing community on the subject.

Mail remains the safest way to communicate and share information, and represents the smallest threat to identity theft.

“The President’s Identity Theft Task Force,” released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is a strategic plan for government agencies to follow in efforts to combat identity theft. The FTC reports that less than 4 percent of all identity theft can be traced to the mail. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service served on the task force.

The Postal Service already has in place the top four recommendations included in the report:
Replaced Social Security Numbers with unique Employee Identification Numbers. Social Security Numbers are the most valuable commodity for an identity thief.
Developed systems to quickly alert private sector companies and consumer information should a security breach occur. The Task Force recommends that national standards be established for private sector entities as well.
Sponsored an awareness campaign for consumers, partners, companies and employees to warn against identity theft; and
Establish a National Identity Theft Law Enforcement Center, similar to one created by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, that coordinates efforts and information efficiently.

Two years ago, the Postal Inspection Service created the Intelligence Sharing Initiative, a website that allows inspectors and fraud investigators representing retail and financial institutions, as well as major mailers, to share information relating to identity theft, as well as financial crimes investigations and prevention methods. This effort came more than 15 years after the Inspection Service began a Credit Card Mail Security Initiative to work more effectively with the credit card industry to reduce fraud losses.