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The tracking number may come from the USPS, UPS, or another carrier; how scammers access the numbers is unclear, but that's a problem for the carriers to address.
It is a unique ID number or code assigned to a package or parcel. The tracking number is typically printed on the shipping label as a bar code that can be scanned by anyone with a bar code reader or smartphone. In the United States, some of the carriers using tracking numbers include UPS, [1] FedEx, [2] and the United States Postal Service. [3]
The service became quickly popular: for UPS the number of packages tracked on the web increased from 600 a day in 1995 [9] to 3.3 million a day in 1999. [10] On-line package tracking became available for all major carrier companies, and was improved by the emergence of websites that offered consolidated tracking for different mail carriers. [11]
Contrary to popular belief, [dubious – discuss] Tracking is not accepted as proof of mailing in nearly all legal situations. [citation needed] The service also allows the receiver to track their package/envelope through the online system at usps.com using the unique tracking number provided by the mailer. [15]
Some mailpieces (e.g., catalogues, magazines, larger envelopes) are not imaged by USPS automated equipment and do not appear in Informed Delivery notifications. Users can also receive USPS Tracking updates for incoming packages, provide delivery instructions, manage notifications, and schedule redelivery directly from Informed Delivery.
The Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique (PLANET) barcode was used by the United States Postal Service to identify and track pieces of mail during delivery – the Post Office's "CONFIRM" services.
When combined with the ZIP + 4 code, the delivery point provides a unique identifier for every deliverable address served by the USPS. [ 1 ] The delivery point digits are almost never printed on mail in human-readable form; instead they are encoded in the POSTNET delivery point barcode (DPBC) or as part of the newer Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb).
The UPU S10 standard defines a system for assigning 13-character identifiers to international postal items for the purpose of tracking and tracing them during shipping. With increased liberalization and the possibility of multiple postal services operating in the same country, the use of country codes to designate the postal service is a problem.