The U.S. Postal Inspection Service

Consumer Awareness

The Elwood P. Zap puppet
The Elwood P. Zap puppet had a brief career. His character appeared at a series of five professional conferences in 1979 to teach employees and business mail representatives about postal crimes, safety and security. The programming around the puppet represents one of the Postal Inspection Service's many educational initiatives.

Postal inspectors do what they can to protect the American consumer from an array of postal frauds. But consumers are the key to making sure that their money stays in their pockets. Everyone needs to arm themselves with knowledge about common frauds. A little familiarity with the signs will go a long way in helping keep themselves and family members from being fleeced. The Postal Inspection Service has numerous ways to help educate consumers. For a start, learn more about the types of mail frauds that are in existence, and learn how to avoid these scams. Then click on the various links in this website to learn more information, or even report a suspected fraud. Don’t let the con artists win.