New Haven: Make it lucky number 13 for New Haven postal customers as the Postal Inspection Service marks its 13th Annual National Consumer Protection Week with a free document shredding service in the that Post Office lobby on Tuesday from 11 am to 1 pm.

This year’s theme – Your Information Destination -- highlights resources available to consumers through various channels. In recognition of National Consumer Protection Week 2011, the Inspection Service and its partners are promoting free resources to help people protect their privacy, manage money and debt, avoid identity theft, understand credit and mortgages, and steer clear of frauds and scams.

On Tuesday, March 8, the public is invited to attend a ‘Shred It To Protect It!’ event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the lobby of the New Haven Post Office, at 50 Brewery Street. The lunch-time promotion is an opportunity to bring old bank statements, credit card offers, old bills, cancelled checks and other personal papers to be shredded on the spot at no charge.

The event will be staffed by local Postal Inspectors who will meet New Haven customers to talk about fraud and consumer rights.

Through March 12, the United States Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service join with federal, state and local government agencies and consumer protection organizations in observing the 13th Annual National Consumer Protection Week. Local postal officials encourage everyone to visit the U.S. Postal Service/Postal Inspection Service website, dedicated to fraud education and prevention, and the NCPW website sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission, for tips about making smarter decisions in the marketplace.

“In 2010, we launched www.deliveringtrust.com to help educate the public about the dangers of fraud,” said Guy Cottrell, Chief Postal Inspector. “These efforts help to ensure the public’s trust in the U.S. Mail.”

The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 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 its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.