Holiday Hints

Five Tips For Safety

Monday, May 20, 2019

(NAPSI)—For many of us, this season is a time to celebrate the holidays    with family and friends. Unfortunately, thieves take advantage of the    holidays to steal packages containing gifts for loved ones or supplies needed    for holiday celebrations.

The Postal Service™ looks forward to delivering a great deal of holiday    cheer along with more than 15 billion mail pieces. The United States Postal    Inspection Service®, the federal law enforcement arm of the Postal    Service, is working around-the-clock to keep your important shipments safe    and prevent mail and parcel theft.

What can you do to ensure your gifts and cards are safe? Postal Inspectors    are offering FIVE tips to help ensure your important packages reach their    destination, and brighten the lives of friends and loved ones this holiday    season.

1. Don't leave delivered mail and    packages unattended. Just as you would not leave your wallets and purses    on the front seat of an unlocked car overnight, mail and packages should not    be left sitting in mailboxes or on front porches for any length of time.

2. Going out of town? Hold Mail    at the local Post Office®. If you plan on going out of town or    know you won't be able to check your mail for a few days, consider using the    Request Hold Mail service on USPS.com®.    Letters and packages will be held securely at the local Post Office until you    pick them up or request delivery.

3. Plan ahead. Ship using Hold for    Pickup. When shipping packages, you can choose the Hold for Pickup option    and the recipients can collect the packages at their local Post Office. If    you are expecting a package, you can redirect it to your local Post Office by    selecting Hold for Pickup using USPS Package Intercept®.

4. Customize the delivery. If    you know the package will not fit in your mailbox and you won't be home to    receive it, you can authorize the carrier to leave it in a specified    location. Visit usps.com, enter the    tracking number and select Delivery Instructions.

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