POSTAL SERVICE ADDS SIGN AS ACCEPTABLE BOX ADDRESS.

Byline: Dave McNary Staff Writer

Private mailbox holders will avoid the stigma of having to identify their addresses as ``PMBs,'' the U.S. Postal Service declared Thursday.

Instead, the agency announced late in the day, customers who rent mailboxes can also use the number sign - also known as or the tic-tac-toe sign - in their mailing addresses and still expect their mail will be delivered. The new rule, which is designed to cut postal fraud, is expected to go into effect in April, according to USPS spokeswoman Terri Bouffiou.

The decision may seem minor - there's not that much difference, after all, between a PMB and a . But business owners were furious when the post office first suggested the PMB change, saying it would make their legitimate businesses - previously ``located'' in Suite 200 or Unit 150, for example - appear suspect.

Owners of mailbox sites also accused the Postal Service of trying to drive business to the quasigovernmental agency's own post office boxes.

``The decision is good news for us because it would have had a big impact if everyone had to use PMB in their address,'' said James Bae, manager of Mail Box World in Northridge. ``People would have probably decided just to get a post office box instead.''

Private companies usually charge $10 to $12 per month, compared with $5 a month for a post box, but offer additional services such as mail forwarding, parcel preparation and delivery through companies like Federal Express.

Briti Haynes, owner and manager of Wall Street Connection in Tarzana, said many of her customers had expressed reservations about using PMB as part of the address.

``A lot of people use us as their business mailing address, and the PMB would have made them look questionable,'' she explained. ``They didn't like it at all. I don't know what their reaction will be about the number sign, but I don't think it will be as negative.''

The USPS, which kicked up a strong negative reaction when it proposed that all mail destined for rented boxes carry the PMB designation, portrayed its decision as a compromise.

``The new regulations strike a balance between protecting privacy, supporting small business growth and enhancing our arsenal in the fight against mail fraud,'' said Chief Postal Inspector Kenneth Weaver in a written statement.

As previously proposed, the new rules will still bar renters from using the potentially misleading terms suite, office, bureau or unit No. If those are used, the mail will be returned to sender.