Emergency Management and Response
Information Sharing and Analysis Center
(EMR-ISAC)
INFOGRAM 49-09    December 17, 2009

Suspicious Holiday Cards, Letters, and Packages

During this holiday season, it is reasonable to expect that some Emergency Service Sector (ESS) departments and agencies may receive cards, letters, and packages recognizing the service and sacrifices of local emergency responders.  Unfortunately, the possibility exists that the season’s greetings could contain explosives, chemicals, or biological agents.  Although there is no known threat against ESS organizations, the Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) shares the following typical characteristics of mail and packages that should trigger suspicion:

·         Sent by an unexpected or an unknown person or source.
·         Contain no return address or an address that cannot be verified as legitimate.
·         Have protruding wires or aluminum foil, strange odors or stains.
·         Show a city or state in the postmark that does not match the return address.
·         Are of unusual weight given their size, or are lopsided or oddly shaped.
·         Marked with threatening language.
·         Labeled in an inappropriate or unusual manner.
·         Include excessive postage or packaging material, such as masking tape and string.
·         Contain misspellings or common words.
·         Addressed to someone no longer with the organization or used other outdated information.
·         Titled incorrectly or without a name.
·         Are not addressed to a specific person.
·         Have hand-written or poorly typed addresses.

See the following web sites for additional information about suspicious mail:

·        Federal Bureau of Investigation
·        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PDF, 241 Kb)