| 摘要 |
There is provided a method comprising: determining, by an online postage system, that a request from a customer system at a third-party location for an as needed 5 amount of postage is fillable; sending, from the online postage system, to the customer system an authorization and information to print immediately the as needed amount of postage; receiving data corresponding to a unique postal indicium at the online postage system having a first computer and storing the data in a database, the data being received over a computer network from a customer system at a third-party location after printing 10 of the postal indicium; comparing, with the first computer, scanned information derived from an image of the postal indicium affixed to a mail piece, the image being obtained by scanning the mail piece with a scanner and received over the computer network from a reading location, against the stored data corresponding to the postal indicium, to determine if the scanned data matches the stored data, if it is a duplicate, and if it is 15 otherwise suspected of being fraudulent, the postal indicium bearing a delivery point code for an address written on the mail piece; receiving, with the first computer, a delivery point code read directly from the postal indicium affixed to the mail piece, when the postal indicium is address dependent; responsive to the receiving, processing the delivery point code including comparing at a point of automation using the first computer the 20 delivery point code read from the postal indicium with an address read from the mail piece, and, prior to the comparing the delivery point code, checking a flag in the postal indicium that identifies a status of the delivery point code, wherein when a delivery point code is printed on the mail piece and the flag is set, the flag indicates that the delivery point code has been validated before being printed on the mail piece; sending mail 25 handling instructions, responsive to results of the comparing of scanned information, the determining of the delivery point code, and the processing of the delivery point code including the checking of the flag in the postal indicium and, when the flag is not set, the comparing of the delivery point code, from the online postage system to the reading location via the computer network regarding how to handle the mail piece to which the 30 postal indicium is affixed, wherein, when a delivery point code is printed on the mail piece, the mail handling instructions vary depending on whether or not the flag in the 5758856_1 (GHMatters) P72131.AU.2 SARAHW 11/09/2014 indicium is set; and sending information, responsive to the comparing of scanned information and the comparing of the delivery point code, from the online postage system to an automatic revenue protection processing system. 5758856_1 (GHMatters) P72131.AU.2 SARAHW 11/09/2014 |
