WHAT:
U.S. Postal Inspector Yvette Martinez and S.A. Postal officials will provide free informative DVDs and brochures to educate the public and celebrate National Consumer Protection Week scheduled March 2-6, 2009.

Educational material will be distributed to warn consumers against identity theft and fraudulent schemes, as well as, provide valuable information on protecting financial assets and reporting fraud.

WHEN:
11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., Monday, March 2, 2009 (Postal Inspector Martinez will be available from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. for media interviews.)

WHERE:
General Mail Facility (GMF) Lobby, 10410 Perrin-Beitel Rd., 78284

BACKGROUND:
National Consumer Protection Week, set for March 2- 6, 2009, is a national awareness program led by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to help consumers improve their knowledge on how to prevent investment scams, work-at-home fraud and pyramid schemes.

The San Antonio Post Office and Consumer Affairs Office will team up with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to educate customers about identity theft and “phishing,” “pharming” and ways to survive the internet cyber space.

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.

For information and resources on fraud, visit: www.usps.com/postalinspectors/

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

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.