What:
Postal Service officials will host an awareness event to celebrate National Consumer Protection Week. Officials will distribute brochures warning against fraudulent financial schemes and tips to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft.

Who:
Eldridge Hawkins, Jr. Mayor, City Of Orange
Jane Walsh, Postmaster, Orange
David L. Collins, Inspector-In-Charge, Postal Inspection Service
Ed Steed, Public Information Officer, Postal Inspection Service
Cynthia Wofford, Special Agent-In-Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Newark
Hazel Cerra, Special Agent, U.S. Secret Service, Newark
Joseph Bonavolonta, Supervisory Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Anthony Richardson, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Deborah Marrone, Federal Trade Commission, Northeast Region
Donna Giovannetti, County & Municipal Consumer Agencies

When:
Wednesday, March 4th at 10:00 a.m.

Where:
The Orange Middle School, 400 Central Avenue, Orange NJ

Background:
National Consumer Protection Week, set for March 1-7, is a national program led by the Federal Trade Commission to draw attention to issues and recommendations that help customers become smarter consumers of products, materials and services, and improve their knowledge of how to combat fraud of any type.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Consumer Advocate and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are working to educate consumers about identity theft and fraudulent mailing schemes. The U.S. Postal Service will provide consumers with the tools and information needed to combat these types of crimes.

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.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

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.