trends First Class Tips For @Q Mail Safety This Holiday Season (NAPSA)—This year no one wants to push the envelope too far whenit comes to mail safety. “Last year, Americans used the United States Postal Service to send and receive more than 4 billion letters and cards between Thanksgiving and Christmas and over 2.2 billion packages. We encourage all Americans to continue to participate in this sea- sonal tradition,” said Michael Critelli, Chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes. The 680 million pieces of mail that are delivered each day represent American’s fundamental right to free speech. The U.S. Postal Service and industry leader Pitney Bowes are investing considerable time and resources to keep the mail as risk free as possible, this holiday season and year-round. Here are some postal pointers for you and your loved ones to keep in mindthis holiday season: In general, metered mail and professionally produced mail is much safer than mail that is stamped because it can be traced to the sender. Make sure that letters and packages are sealed properly. Improperly sealed mail can provide a wayfor any biological agent to be dispersed throughtheair. Never accept mail or package deliveries from unknown persons who can not provide proper identification and proof of employment by a delivery organization. Suspicious mail could have excessive postage and may be poorly typed or handwritten with misspellings. The package may contain no return address and havean odororoily stains. Be alert. Immediately isolate the letter or package and call the authorities if you spot suspicious mail.
