Patent ID: 8291239

Claim:
A method for a mail processing system including a processing device to prepare a mail piece for sending to a recipient comprising: obtaining by the processing device a plurality of data elements associated with the mail piece, the plurality of data elements including the recipient's name, an identification number for the mail piece, and physical attributes of the mail piece; combining, by the processing device, the plurality of data elements to form a data string; encrypting the data string using a cryptographic key to form an encrypted ciphertext; separating, by the processing device, the cryptographic key into a first key portion and a second key portion and the encrypted ciphertext into a first ciphertext portion and a second ciphertext portion; printing the first ciphertext portion on at least one of the mail piece and a label to be applied to the mail piece; electronically sending the first key portion to the recipient; and electronically sending the second key portion, the second ciphertext portion and the identification number for the mail piece to a data center for storage.