Postal Consumer Protection Week

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Trade Commission are partnering with Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Phonebusters and Canada’s Competition Bureau—an independent law enforcement agency for National Consumer Protection Week (Feb. 5 through 11) in the U.S. and Canada’s Fraud Prevention Month in March.

This year's campaign focuses on family members staying in touch with one another to ensure no one is falling victim to fraudulent deals.

Some of the most common types of fraud include;

• Free-prize schemes
• Foreign lotteries
• Multilevel marketing
• Identity fraud (or identity theft)
• Investment schemes
• Internet fraud (and online auctions)
• Work-at-home scams

A series of initiatives to educate consumers about scams targeting victims in both countries to combat cross-border fraud are planned.

To learn more about postal fraud in United States and Canada, what you can do to prevent it, and how to get a free DVD, "Nowhere to Run: Cross-Border Fraud," click here