Terrorists??

[Ed_L]

I'm passing on an e-mail that I received. I happened to be talking to my daughter, whose husband drives for UPS, and she asked him if he heard of anything like this. He said there have been numerous buys during the last year, so I thought it might be worth passing around. Better safe than sorry.

A MESSAGE FOR ALL:
> >
> > A Friend Received this message via military e-mail, and certainly
> > thought it important enough to pass along. PLEASE DO THE SAME, TO
> > EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!
> >
> > STATEMENT READ:
> > "There has been a huge purchase of United Parcel Service (UPS) uniforms
> > on eBAY over the past 30 days. This represents a serious threat as
> > bogus drivers can drop off anything to anyone with deadly consequences.
> > If you have ANY questions when a UPS driver appears at your door, they
> > should be able to furnish a VALID I.D. If you have a problem,
> > IMMEDIATELY call security (the authorities).
> >
> > STAY ALERT!!!"
> >
> > This message is translated EXACTLY as I received it. Please stay
> > alert, and pass this on! It's more important now than ever!
> >


Ed

[CJ Swartz]

For further info relating to the stories, click the link:

Snopes.com -- further info

A brief summary from their website states:

The reponse we finally received from UPS via e-mail disclaimed any notion of "missing" uniforms but reinforced the notion that UPS and law enforcement agencies are concerned about recent sales of used UPS uniforms:


A number of security alerts regarding UPS uniforms recently have been distributed by both private and law enforcement sources. There are two primary versions of these alerts:

1) Misleading reports of a missing shipment of UPS uniforms.
2) Alerts regarding a large number of uniforms being purchased by an individual.

Reports that a shipment of UPS uniforms is missing are simply not true. There is no missing shipment of uniforms.

As for alerts regarding uniforms being purchased by an individual, this matter has been investigated by law enforcement with UPS' involvement and cooperation and resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

UPS does not condone the sale or unauthorized use of its uniforms. UPS investigates reports of such unauthorized use but due to security concerns, we are not at the liberty to discuss such matters in any further detail.
As the Washington Post reported, law enforcement agencies, eBay, and UPS were all eager to deny any claims of missing or stolen uniforms:
The FBI has debunked several similar UPS stories since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg in Atlanta says the e-mail has been "thoroughly investigated" by the FBI and local law enforcement. "It is the urban legend of missing uniforms," she says.

EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove also says the UPS story "comes up empty."
Our best guess is that after they were alerted to on-line sales of their discarded uniforms, UPS realized the potential public relations disaster that would follow any unfortunate incident involving the use of a UPS uniform (terrorist-related or not) and decided that quietly spending a few thousand dollars to buy up available uniforms while working behind the scenes to convince on-line auction sites to drop such listings was a worthwhile investment. After all, you can't remain one of the world's top package delivery services if people are afraid to open the door for your deliverymen.

[Ed_L]

My daughter came over tonight. Her husband doesn't tell her everything that happens concerning things like this, but he did tell her that they got new I. D.'s, and they are also in the process of getting new uniforms. It wasn't clear to her if this had anything to do with security. They are also getting new insignias.

Ed