The Atlanta-based express delivery company said customers will be asked for identification if their packages do not have a preprinted shipping label attached. The ID policy has been in place at UPS package terminals since 2005.
The move comes in the wake of the Oct. 28 parcel bomb plot, in which investigators believe packages with plastic explosives hidden inside were reportedly tendered to an air cargo agent in Yemen by a walk-up customer and placed on passenger flights before being transferred in Dubai to UPS and FedEx planes.
Less than two weeks after the incident, the Department of Homeland Security began requiring international mail packages to be screened individually and certified to have come from an established postal shipper. The measure essentially forces postal authorities to segregate packages based on whether they are a regular shipper with a known address so they can proceed in accordance with appropriate screening. Individuals who walk up to the counter will fall into the high-risk category and their shipments will not be allowed on passenger aircraft.
The move by UPS is designed to add another layer of security to packages from customers who walk in stores off the street.
'Since retail centers experience a significant increase in business from occasional shippers during the busy holidays, this enhancement adds a prudent step in our multilayered approach to security,' said Dale Hayes, UPS vice president of small business and retail marketing, in a statement.
