Conduct business

safely with Money

Orders. Be

cautious and be

smart.

©2005 United States Postal Service. All rights reserved. Eagle symbol and logotype are registered marks of the United States Postal Service. ©2005 eBay Inc. All rights reserved. eBay and the eBay logo are registered trademarks of eBay Inc. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. 7690-07-000-5488

Internet transactions are the number one culprit in Money Order fraud.
Legitimate websites and online businesses are being used to cheat people out of cash and payment owed for the sale and purchase of items. Be vigilant in reading email or chat room solicitations.

Most online Money Order fraud can be traced to two scams:

• A seller is sent a counterfeit money order in an amount greater than necessary to cover the purchase costs. The potential victim is then asked to ship back the balance as cash. When the bank doesn’t clear the counterfeit money order, the seller loses the original purchase price as well as the cash balance.
• You receive an email from someone you don’t know, asking that you deposit a counterfeit Money Order in your personal or business account and write the sender a check for the same amount.  

Tips for eBay sellers

• Be skeptical of anyone asking you to wire money to overseas bank accounts or to cash Money Orders or checks on their behalf.
• Know who you’re dealing with. Never give out personal or financial information to anyone you don’t know.
• Never wire funds to anyone unless you’re sure the Money Order or check they gave you was cleared by your bank and the funds released.
  Never accept Money Orders or checks for more than the selling price.
• Never agree to wire funds to a buyer. Legitimate buyers won’t pressure you to do so and you will have limited recourse if there’s a problem.

U.S. Postal Service Money Orders are as secure as any other financial instrument.

Unlike private business checks or even other money orders, the Postal Money Order is generally regarded as one of the more difficult financial documents to counterfeit because of its watermarks, security threads and a rainbow of inked patterns and tones

• Watermark images of Ben Franklin are visible when the Money Order is held to the light.
• A dark security thread runs top to bottom to the right of the Ben Franklin image and carries the tiny letters “USPS” backward and forward. 

The Postal Service works to prevent Money Order fraud.

The Postal Service launched a money order verification service, enabling financial institutions to verify the validity of U.S. Postal Service Money Orders through an Interactive Voice Response phone system. A phone call will verify that the money order was issued by the Postal Service in the dollar amount indicated.  Information has been sent to all financial institutions in the U.S., and published in various financial publications.

Report Money Order fraud.

To report a fraud complaint, call the Fraud Complaint Hotline at 1-800-372-8347 or visit the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Web site at www.usps.com/postalinspectors.

For more information about Postal Service Money Orders, visit the U.S. Postal Service Web site at http://www.usps.com/ missingmoneyorders/security.htm

Privacy and the United States Postal Service

No government agency touches the public like the United States Postal Service® (USPS®). No other government agency has the one-to-one, personalized service with its customers, 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

According to the Ponemon Institute's 2005 and 2006 consumer trust surveys, Americans rated the Postal ServiceTM as the number one agency they trust to protect their privacy. The Customer Respect Group rated www.usps.com in 2006 as the number one Web site among its competitors for consumer privacy protection.

FAQs

What is the USPS commitment to privacy and privacy protection?

USPS commits to provide users with notice on when information is being collected about them, what that information is, and how that information will be used. USPS also commits to limit collection of information to only what is necessary and to protect what information we do collect.

How does USPS protect my information online?

To protect your information once we receive it, we have implemented industry-standard data security measures and software programs to monitor network traffic that identifies and prevents unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

USPS protects your information by using industry-standard encryption software, Secured Socket Layer (SSL). The URL in your browser will change to "HTTPS" instead of "HTTP" when this security feature is invoked. Your browser also may display a lock symbol on its bottom task bar line to indicate invoked secure transmission.

What personal information does USPS collect?

USPS only collects personal information if you specifically and knowingly provided it. Personal information may include your name, phone numbers, your e-mail, mailing and/or business address, or other information that identifies you personally. You do not have to register or provide personal information to visit our Web site.

Does USPS share personal information with outside parties?

As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, USPS must disclose the circumstances in which information collected from you may be released to outside entities. Under no other circumstances does the Postal Service provide your personal information to outside parties. We do not market other products or services to you without your consent. We require that our service providers adhere to our privacy requirements. We do not require you to register or provide personal information in order to visit our Web site.

Does USPS identify individual users on usps.com?

Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits beyond those uses identified in our privacy policy. To see highlights of the notice, go to www.usps.com and click on Privacy Policy.

Does USPS share personal information with outside parties?

As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, USPS must disclose the circumstances in which information collected from you may be released to outside entities. Under no other circumstances does the Postal Service provide your personal information to outside parties. We do not market other products or services to you without your consent. We require that our service providers adhere to our privacy requirements. We do not require you to register or provide personal information in order to visit our Web site.

Does USPS share personal information with outside parties?

As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, USPS must disclose the circumstances in which information collected from you may be released to outside entities.

Under no other circumstances does the Postal Service provide your personal information to outside parties. We do not market other products or services to you without your consent. We require that our service providers adhere to our privacy requirements. We do not require you to register or provide personal information in order to visit our Web site.

Does USPS identify individual users on usps.com?

Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits beyond those uses identified in our privacy policy. To see highlights of the notice, go to www.usps.com and click on Privacy Policy.

What is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act?

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), passed by Congress in October 1998, places restrictions on how Web sites collect information from children under the age of 13.

The Act and associated rules apply to:

• Operators of commercial Web sites or online services directed to children under 13 that collect personal information from children.

• Operators of general audience sites that knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

• Operators of general audience sites that have a separate children's area and that collect personal information from children.

For more information, visit the FTC's COPPA site at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/coppa/checklist.htm.

Do we request information from children?

From time to time as part of a special Postal Service promotion, such as stamp collecting, we may request information from children under 13 years of age. We will do so only with parental notice and consent. We will take all necessary steps to protect the privacy and safety of any child participating, in accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Does USPS provide users with choice in information sharing activities?

Yes. USPS believes in permission-based marketing. We do not sell, rent, or otherwise provide your personal information to outside marketers. You will only receive marketing about products and services of the Postal Service or its partners, other than products and services you already receive or are registered for.

Consumers may opt-in, and businesses may opt-out, when they register on usps.com and create a customer profile. You can change your preferences in your profile any time.

What organizations may customers contact to remove their names from mailing lists?

MAIL PREFERENCE SERVICE
DIRECTOR MARKETING ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 643
CARMEL NY 10512-0643

EQUIFAX INC
NAME REMOVAL DEPARTMENT
PO BOX 740241
ATLANTA GA 30374-0241

EXPERIAN
ATTN CONSUMER SERVICE DEPT
901 W BOND ST
LINCOLN NE 68521-3694

TRANS UNION LLC
NAME REMOVAL OPTION
PO BOX 97328
JACKSON MS 39288-7328

Where can I find the USPS privacy policy?

The USPS privacy policy can be accessed via the Postal Service's Web site, www.usps.com/privacyoffice, or directly at: http://www.usps.gov/common/docs/privpol.htm.

What should I do if I have a privacy question after reading the policy and FAQs?

If you wish to contact us, please send an e-mail to privacy@usps.com or write to:

PRIVACY OFFICE
US POSTAL SERVICE
475 L'ENFANT PLZ SW RM 10407
WASHINGTON DC 20260-2200

— Media Relations,
Public Affairs and Communications, 1-18-07