Pc postagetm service indicia design for shipping label

A method of adjusting an amount of prepaid postage on a mailpiece, wherein the mailpiece comprises a postage indicia including an indication of an initial postage amount, comprising:

• receiving a payment for the initial postage amount;
• receiving the mailpiece, wherein the postage indicia includes the initial postage amount, billing information of a sender, and a unique postage number in only a machine readable format;
• verifying that the initial postage amount is the proper amount;
• updating a database to associate the billing information with the unique postage number;
• using the billing information to bill a party for an adjusted postage amount, if the initial postage amount is not verified;
• and
• altering the postage indicia to reflect the adjusted postage amount, once the party has been billed for the adjusted amount.

A system for adjusting an amount of prepaid postage on a mailpiece, comprising:

• means for receiving a payment for an initial postage amount;
• means for receiving a mailpiece including a postage indicia, wherein the postage indicia includes the initial postage amount, billing information of a sender, and a unique postage number in only a machine readable format;
• means for verifying that the initial postage amount is the proper amount;
• means for updating a database to associate the billing information with the unique postage number;
• means for billing a party for an adjusted postage amount, if the initial postage amount is determined to be improper;
• and
• means for altering the postage indicia to reflect the adjusted postage amount, once the party has been billed for the adjusted amount.

A system for preventing postage fraud comprising:

• a mailpiece including a stealth postage indicia comprising a unique parcel number and a unique postage number;
• a scanner for reading the unique parcel number and the unique postage number;
• a database in communication with the scanner, for verifying that the unique parcel number and the unique postage number are assigned to each other;
• and
• an electronic interface for transmitting the postage indicia to a user, wherein the electronic interface is in communication with the database such that, upon purchase of the postage indicia by the sender, the database is updated with a record for the new postage indicia.

A system for verifying the proper postage on a mailpiece, comprising:

• a mailpiece including a stealth postage indicia comprising a postage amount represented in a format not readable by humans;
• a scanner for reading the postage amount;
• a scale for weighing the mailpiece and determining the proper postage for the mailpiece;
• and
• a billing interface in communication with the scanner and the scale for verifying that the postage paid is the proper amount, and, if not, transmitting a bill to a sender of the mailpiece for an adjusted amount and receiving payment for the adjusted amount.

A method of dispensing fraud protected postage via the internet, comprising:

• receiving an estimated weight for a parcel from a sender via a web page;
• receiving payment from the sender for an initial postage amount for the parcel;
• transmitting instructions to a user's computer for producing a stealth postage indicia, comprising at least two unique numbers, and wherein the stealth postage indicia represents the postage in only a machine readable form;
• and
• verifying a postage label for a mailpiece by verifying the two unique numbers.