OVERVIEW

Email receivers today face an ever-increasing burden of filtering out spam and other undesirable email. ePostmarks is Postal Service Email – it is email that is guaranteed to be authentic by ePostmarks and by the United States Postal Service...

By giving ePostmarks mail a “pass” through email filters, Email receivers can decrease the burden on their filtering systems while at the same time ensuring that critical communications are delivered promptly.

For receivers, ePostmark verification has both automated and user-visible components. Automated verification occurs by examination of the ePostmarks Receipt accompanying the email and positive filtering of the email based on this receipt. An ePostmarks Safe Sender List provides proof that the sender is an accredited ePostmarks sender in good status.

User verification is provided by including the ePostmarks logo as a visible Trust Seal in the inbox. This trust seal allows recipients to easily verify incoming messages as being authentic and reputable before opening the message. A simple delivery confirmation interface is provided for ISPs that wish to receive payment for delivery in exchange for placement of the in the inbox. ePostmarks works in concert with the ISPs, the USPS and other posts to ensure ISPs reliably verify and deliver all ePostmarked messages.

Enforcement is incorporated into the ePostmarks product by applying the EPM. Since the EPM is a Postal service, using an EPM to authenticate a message gives it similar protections afforded other Postal services such as first class mail. This means that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service can investigate cases where the EPM is used improperly or fraudulently which should lead to a significant reduction in fraud. Feedback is another important element of enforcement. Misuse of the EPM will result in revocation of sender privileges.