EP1047025A2 - Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Feststellen des Missbrauchs von Postwertzeichen - Google Patents
Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Feststellen des Missbrauchs von Postwertzeichen Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1047025A2 EP1047025A2 EP20000108083 EP00108083A EP1047025A2 EP 1047025 A2 EP1047025 A2 EP 1047025A2 EP 20000108083 EP20000108083 EP 20000108083 EP 00108083 A EP00108083 A EP 00108083A EP 1047025 A2 EP1047025 A2 EP 1047025A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- mail piece
- postal indicia
- posted
- information signal
- characteristic
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
- G07B17/00435—Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00016—Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
- G07B17/0008—Communication details outside or between apparatus
- G07B2017/00153—Communication details outside or between apparatus for sending information
- G07B2017/00169—Communication details outside or between apparatus for sending information from a franking apparatus, e.g. for verifying accounting
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
- G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
- G07B17/00435—Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
- G07B2017/00443—Verification of mailpieces, e.g. by checking databases
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for detecting mail fraud. More specifically, the present invention concerns a method and apparatus for detecting misuse of postal indicia.
- Postage meters are commonly used to apply postal indicia to mail pieces in lieu of using postage stamps.
- a mail piece to be mailed is inserted into the postage meter, which imprints a mark (also called a postal indicia) on the mail piece indicating that a certain amount of postage has been paid.
- the postage meter deducts the amount of postage applied to the mail piece from an amount available, which is stored in the postage meter. Periodically, the amount available is increased, and the sender is billed for the increase. The process of increasing the amount available is referred to as "refilling" or "recharging" the postage meter.
- an organization other than the post office is responsible for monitoring and refilling such postage meters, billing and collecting fees from senders, as well as remitting to the post office a sum of money corresponding to the postage applied by such postage meters.
- a data processing system compares cumulative amounts of postage expended by a particular postage meter to determine if the difference between totals expended and total recharges exceeds the thresholds, indicating the possibility of fraudulent or improper use of that postage meter.
- One of the disadvantages of the prior art systems is that if a postage meter is refilled but the total amount available for authorized mailings is not immediately used, it is possible for unauthorized mailing (i.e., mailing mail pieces having fraudulently applied postal indicia) to occur without detection. For example, if a particular postage meter is refilled with $1,000 available for postage, it may take the user several months to use up the $1,000 and require another refill. During those months, mail with fraudulently applied postal indicia could be sent without detection, provided that the amount of authorized postage plus the amount of fraudulent postage did not exceed $1,000.
- An additional disadvantage of the prior art systems results from the inability of such systems to track when postal indicia have been applied to mail pieces.
- Several days may lapse between the time a postal indicia is applied to a mail piece and the time the mail piece is processed at the post office.
- the prior art systems may not detect that a mail piece was marked with a postal indicia during a first period of time corresponding to an initial refill, if that mail piece was marked shortly before a second period of time corresponding to a subsequent refill, i.e., the prior art systems are not able to detect which refill period the postal indicia corresponds to. Therefore, the time frame during which mail pieces having undetected fraudulently applied postal indicia may be longer than one refill period.
- the prior art systems may also not timely detect so-called "recycled” mail pieces having authorized postal indicia. "Recycling" occurs when a mail piece is sent through the optical character recognition system more than once. In such a situation, as long as the amount of authorized postage plus the amount of postage corresponding to recycled mail pieces does not exceed the amount available, the "recycling" would not be detected by prior art systems. Undetected recycling results in a difference between the amount of money the post office expects to receive for handling indicia marked mail pieces, and the amount of money that the organization which monitors and refills the postage meters expects to pay to the post office.
- the foregoing objectives are realized by the present invention, which includes a method for detecting misuse of postal indicia.
- the method begins by storing a first information signal in a memory.
- the first information signal is indicative of a postal indicia applied at a sender location on at least one mail piece to be sent.
- the indicia is indicative of a characteristic of an applying device which is applied the postal indicia to the mail piece to be sent, and is also indicative of a characteristic of the mail piece to be.
- a postal indicia on at least one received mail piece is sensed at a post office, and a second information signal, indicative of the sensed indicia, is provided.
- the sensed indicia is indicative of a characteristic of an applying device which applied the sensed indicia, and is also indicative of a characteristic of the received mail piece.
- the stored first information signal is retrieved and provided in response to a retrieve command signal.
- the first information signal retrieved from the memory is compared with the second information signal, and if the first information signal is not the same as the second information signal, a misuse signal is provided.
- Figures 1 and 2 illustrate an apparatus and the method steps respectively, in accordance with the present invention.
- the method begins by a storing step 100 wherein a first information signal 20 is stored in a storage memory 22, and this is followed by a reading step 102 wherein the postal indicia 28A, 28B on the mailed piece 30A, 30B are read at a post office 66 and a second information signal 70 is provided to comparison means 76; a retrieving step 104 wherein the first information signal 20 is retrieved from the storage memory 22, and the retrieved signal is provided to comparison means 76; and, finally, a comparing step 106 wherein the first 20 and second 70 information signals are compared and a misuse signal 82 is provided if a miscomparison occurs.
- the first information signal 20 is indicative of a postal indicia 28A, 28B applied on one or more mail pieces 30A, 30B to be sent at a sender location.
- the postal indicia 28A, 28B is indicative of a characteristic of a device, such as an electronic meter 24A, a PC meter 24B and a virtual meter 24C, which applies the postal indicia to the mail piece 30A, 30B to be sent.
- the first information signal 20 may be provided via modem 17 and a meter management computer 19 to the first information signal storage memory 22 to be stored therein.
- the electronic meter 24A which applies postage to mail piece 30A, includes an electronic postage meter and an electronic interface unit.
- the PC meter 24B which applies postage to mail piece 30B, includes a user computer coupled with a printer and a postal security device.
- the postal security device includes a memory for storing an authorized amount, and deducts an amount equal to postage to be applied by the printer which has been instructed by software running on the user computer to apply the postage to a mail piece 30B. Additional funds may be added to the electronic meter 24A and the PC meter 24B during a refill.
- the virtual meter 24C which are also capable of applying postage to mail piece 30B, includes a user computer coupled with a printer and an authorization center.
- a sender desires to apply postage to a mail piece 30B using a virtual meter 24C
- the sender enters a command in the user computer, which establishes a communication link to the meter management computer 19.
- the meter management computer 19 determines whether the request for postage should be granted, and, if granted, a signal is sent back to the user computer permitting the user computer to instruct the printer to print the postal indicia 28B on the mail piece 30B.
- Confirmation of printing the postal indicia is sent from the virtual meter 24C to the management computer 19 which, in turn, sends a first information signal 20 including information regarding the printed postal indicia in the first information signal storage memory 22. Similar procedures are carried out regarding the use of the digital meter 24A and the PC meter 24B.
- Figures 3 and 4 depict, respectively, mail pieces 30A and 30B, each having thereon a respective postal indicia 28A and 28B.
- Figure 3 depicts a postal indicia 28A that is affixed by a digital meter 24A on mail piece 30A.
- the postal indicia 28A may contain a dollar amount 38A for sending the mail piece, the date 40A that the postal indicia is affixed, the place 42A where the postal indicia was affixed, the postage meter serial number 44A, a stylized eagle 46, a piece count 52A, the type of mail piece, the type of the mail piece 55A, and a security code (9).
- the security code is a unique number that may be derived from the address field 54A and information contained in the digital meter 24A.
- the manner in which the security code 16 may be obtained is disclosed in United States Patent No. 4,831,555, entitled "Unsecured Postage Applying System".
- the postal indicia 28A may contain in the areas indicated by reference numerals 56A, 57A and 58A the time that the postal indicia 28A was set to be affixed to the mail piece 30A.
- Area 56A may represent hours in military time (e.g., the number 14 equals 2:00 PM).
- Area 57A may represent minutes (e.g., 23 minutes) after the hour, and area 58A may represent seconds and fractions thereof.
- the postal indicia 28A contains a unique series of numbers, or a so-called specifying number.
- the specifying number may include the postage meter serial number 44A, date 40A, time that the postal indicia was set to be affixed, piece count 52A, dollar amount 38A and type of mail piece 15.
- the specifying number for the mail piece 30A shown in Fig. 3 may be written, for example, as PB445411 02 18 1997 1423060 0045 00.320 102.
- Fig. 4 shows a mail piece 30B containing a postal indicia 28B, commonly referred to as an Information-Based Indicia ("IBI").
- An IBI may be affixed by a PC meter 24B or a virtual meter 24C.
- the postal indicia 28B has a dollar amount 38B, the date 40B that the postal indicia 28B was set to be affixed to the mail piece 30B, the place 42B where the postal indicia 28B was affixed, the piece count 48B, the class 50B, the postage meter serial number 44B, a two-dimensional encrypted bar code 62, a Facing Identification Mark (“FIM”) 64.
- FIM Facing Identification Mark
- Mail piece 30 has an address field 54B and may have a security code that is contained within the encrypted bar code 62.
- the manner in which the security code may be obtained is disclosed in aforementioned, United States Patent No. 4,831,555, entitled "Unsecured Postage Applying System".
- the postal indicia 28B may contain in the area indicated by reference numeral 56B the time that the indicia 28B was set to be affixed to the mail piece 30B.
- the information described above may be incorporated within the two-dimensional encrypted bar code 62.
- the postal indicia 28B contains a unique series of numbers, or a so-called specifying number.
- the specifying number may include the serial number 44B of the PC meter 24B or the virtual meter 24C, as the case may be, date 40B, time 56B that the postal indicia 28B was set to be affixed, piece count 48B, dollar amount 38B and type of mail piece 50B, i.e., first class, which may be code 102.
- the specifying number for the mail piece 30B shown in Fig. 4 may be written, for example, as PB13456 67 89 0 12041997 21 09 42 44 00.320 1 02.
- mail piece 30A, 30B is delivered to a post office 66.
- the received mail piece is one of many received mail pieces, each bearing a postal indicia to be read, which is similar to the postal indicia 28A, 28B.
- an indicia reader 68 which may be an optical character reader, reads the postal indicia on at least one of the received mail pieces 30A, 30B and provides a second information signal 70 indicative of the read postal indicia 28A, 28B.
- Each read postal indicia 28A, 28B is indicative of a characteristic of the meter 24A, 24B, 24C, which applies the read postal indicia, and is also indicative of a characteristic of the mail piece 30A, 30B.
- the second information signal 70 is then sent, via mail piece data concentrator modems 69 and 15, and mail piece data management computer 18, to a mail piece data comparison means 76.
- the first information signal 20 stored in the first information signal storage memory 22 is retrieved and sent to the mail piece data comparison means 76 via the mail piece data management computer 18.
- the mail piece data comparison means 76 compares the first information signal 20 which contains the specifying number for the mail piece 30A, 30B, indicative of the postal indicia 28A, 28B, with the second informal signal 20. If the first and second information signals are not the same, the misused signal 82 is provided and the specifying number is stored in invalid mail piece database 13. If the first and second information signals are the same, the specifying number is stored in the valid mail piece database 12.
- the comparison (step 106) carried out according to the present invention, assume that the first information signal 20 and the second information signal 70 are indicative of the following characteristics: identification number corresponding to the serial number of the applying device, date and time of applying the postal indicia, the type of mail service requested, the postage amount due, the weight, a piece count, and an encrypted code determined from one or more of the foregoing characteristics.
- the comparison means 76 requests retrieval from the first information signal storage memory 22 of all first information signals 20 corresponding to the identification number indicated by the second information signal 70.
- the comparison means 76 compares (step 106) the date and time indicated by the second information signal 70 with the date and time corresponding to the retrieved first information signal 20. If no match of date and time is found, another first information signal 20 having the identification number indicated by the second information signal 70 is retrieved (step 104), and again the corresponding dates and times are compared.
- step 106 This process of comparing (step 106) a retrieved first information signal 20 to the second information signal 70 is repeated until a match is found, or until there are no further first information signals 20 having the identification number indicated by the second information signal 70 to be retrieved. If no match between identification number, date and time is found, the misuse signal 82 is provided.
- the comparison means 76 compares the remaining characteristics (i.e., mail service requested, postage amount due, weight, piece count, and encryption code) corresponding to that retrieved first information signal 20 with the corresponding characteristics of the second information signal 70. If any of these comparisons result in a miscomparison, then the misuse signal 82 is provided.
- the comparison means 76 shown in Fig. 1 is located at a checkpoint location 80, which may be an office of the organization which is responsible for monitoring and refilling the postage meters.
- a second information signal storage memory 84 (shown in Fig. 1) could be used and would operate in a manner similar to the first information signal storage memory 22.
- the second information signal 70 is provided to and stored in a second information signal storage memory 84, such as a memory of a metered mail data management computer.
- the second information signal storage memory 84 Upon receiving the retrieve command signal 78, the second information signal storage memory 84 would provide second information signals 70 to the comparison means 76.
- the second information signal storage memory 84 can be located inter alia at a data center 86, as shown in Fig. 1, at the post office 66, or at the checkpoint location 80.
- the method and apparatus of the present invention provides a means for detecting misused or fraudulently applied postal indicia, and provides a means for detecting when mail has been sent through the postal service optical character readers multiple times, i.e., when mail has been recycled.
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Character Discrimination (AREA)
- Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
- Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
- Devices For Checking Fares Or Tickets At Control Points (AREA)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US29919999A | 1999-04-23 | 1999-04-23 | |
US299199 | 1999-04-23 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP1047025A2 true EP1047025A2 (de) | 2000-10-25 |
EP1047025A3 EP1047025A3 (de) | 2000-12-20 |
Family
ID=23153736
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP00108083A Withdrawn EP1047025A3 (de) | 1999-04-23 | 2000-04-25 | Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Feststellen des Missbrauchs von Postwertzeichen |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1047025A3 (de) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2002039390A1 (de) * | 2000-11-07 | 2002-05-16 | Deutsche Post Ag | Verfahren zum versehen von postsendungen mit frankierungsvermerken |
US8332230B2 (en) * | 2004-07-28 | 2012-12-11 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Fraud detection mechanism adapted for inconsistent data collection |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4831555A (en) | 1985-08-06 | 1989-05-16 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Unsecured postage applying system |
US5280531A (en) | 1991-10-28 | 1994-01-18 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Apparatus for the analysis of postage meter usage |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5454038A (en) * | 1993-12-06 | 1995-09-26 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Electronic data interchange postage evidencing system |
US5712787A (en) * | 1995-07-10 | 1998-01-27 | Canada Post Corporation | Electronic postal counter |
JP3371644B2 (ja) * | 1995-09-14 | 2003-01-27 | オムロン株式会社 | 郵便物処理システム、郵便物処理装置、読取装置およびホストコンピュータ |
US6032138A (en) * | 1997-09-05 | 2000-02-29 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Metering incoming deliverable mail |
-
2000
- 2000-04-25 EP EP00108083A patent/EP1047025A3/de not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4831555A (en) | 1985-08-06 | 1989-05-16 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Unsecured postage applying system |
US5280531A (en) | 1991-10-28 | 1994-01-18 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Apparatus for the analysis of postage meter usage |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2002039390A1 (de) * | 2000-11-07 | 2002-05-16 | Deutsche Post Ag | Verfahren zum versehen von postsendungen mit frankierungsvermerken |
US8332230B2 (en) * | 2004-07-28 | 2012-12-11 | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Fraud detection mechanism adapted for inconsistent data collection |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1047025A3 (de) | 2000-12-20 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
USRE39779E1 (en) | Method for the recovery of unusable printed postage | |
US10783719B2 (en) | Systems and methods for detecting postage fraud using an indexed lookup procedure | |
US6064995A (en) | Metering incoming mail to detect fraudulent indicia | |
US7962423B2 (en) | Method and system for dispensing virtual stamps | |
AU2005314480B9 (en) | Automatic revenue protection and adjustment of postal indicia products | |
EP1825440B1 (de) | Automatische verifikation von mit postwertzeichen versehenen produkten | |
US20030101147A1 (en) | Auditable and secure systems and methods for issuing refunds for misprints of mail pieces | |
JPS62248088A (ja) | 郵便料金改ざん検知方法および装置 | |
US7346590B2 (en) | Method to account for domestic and international mail fees | |
AU2002330240A1 (en) | Method and system for dispensing virtual stamps | |
JPS62254288A (ja) | 複数の郵便物を処理する方法および装置 | |
EP1417609B1 (de) | Verfahren zur indicium-neuausgabe in einem frankiermesssystem | |
US6427139B1 (en) | Method for requesting and refunding postage utilizing an indicium printed on a mailpiece | |
EP1131793B1 (de) | Verfahren und system zur erstellung und überprüfung von frankierzeichen | |
EP1295257B1 (de) | Sichere speicherung von daten auf offenen systemen | |
EP1047025A2 (de) | Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Feststellen des Missbrauchs von Postwertzeichen | |
EP1047024B1 (de) | Vorrichtung zur Erfassung von Informationen von einem Postwertzeichenproduktionsgerät zur Erstellung eines Berichts über das Bezahlen von Mehrwertsteuern und Gebühren | |
US20040059690A1 (en) | Method for franking and processing deliveries |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PUAI | Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012 |
|
AK | Designated contracting states |
Kind code of ref document: A2 Designated state(s): DE FR GB |
|
AX | Request for extension of the european patent |
Free format text: AL;LT;LV;MK;RO;SI |
|
PUAL | Search report despatched |
Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009013 |
|
AK | Designated contracting states |
Kind code of ref document: A3 Designated state(s): AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE |
|
AX | Request for extension of the european patent |
Free format text: AL;LT;LV;MK;RO;SI |
|
RIC1 | Information provided on ipc code assigned before grant |
Free format text: 7G 07B 17/04 A, 7G 07B 17/00 B |
|
RTI1 | Title (correction) |
Free format text: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING MISUSE OF POSTAL INDICIA |
|
17P | Request for examination filed |
Effective date: 20010615 |
|
AKX | Designation fees paid |
Free format text: DE FR GB |
|
STAA | Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent |
Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN |
|
18W | Application withdrawn |
Effective date: 20040615 |