Royal Mail & Spring help UK police seize thousands of scam letters
Thousands of scam letters have been seized by UK police today (25 January). As well as intercepting the mail haul, the Metropolitan Police Service’s Economic and Specialist Crime Unit closed five virtual offices used by the scammers.
Mail has become a common tool for international fraudsters, who attempt to get vulnerable recipients to invest in fake lotteries and inheritance scams.
Some recipients receive more than 100 letters week from criminal organisations, the majority coming from abroad.
After replying to the first ‘tempter’ letter, victims’ names are put on a ‘suckers’ list which is then sold to other criminals all over the world.
Police estimate that more than £3.5bn is ‘scammed’ from UK citizens each year – with £2.4bn of this originating from mail correspondence.
The police operation – which started earlier this year – is being run in partnership with UK operator Royal Mail and international mail provider Spring Global Mail.
With the help of the mail operators, police asked 11 victims to collate their post over a four-week period, before they used a postage paid impression (PPI) to track the mail back to its original source. Royal Mail and Spring Global Mail then alerted police when the next shipment of post bearing this PPI arrived in the UK.
Gary Simpson, international director, Royal Mail, said: “We don’t want any of our postmen or women handling or delivering mail that causes harm or is criminal in intent. Royal Mail is working hard with the police to clamp down on this type of distressing activity.”
Earlier today, detectives visited a UK sorting office where they seized the freight and impounded it. At the same time, five return addresses or ‘virtual offices’ in London identified as part of the scam process were shut down and searched for criminal evidence. These addresses are privately rented mail boxes.
Detective superintendent Mark Ponting, head of prevention and disruption for the MPS’s Economic and Specialist Crime Command, said: “The individuals behind this type of crime are cynical and pernicious, making their living by targeting and exploiting some of the most vulnerable and needy people in our society.
“For many of these victims, the bombardment of scam mail results in fear, severe financial difficulties and ultimately a decline in both physical and mental health.
“In at least five cases in the UK, it has ended in suicide.
“We hope that today’s action, and the action that we will take in the future, will raise awareness of this crime amongst all sectors of society and prevent more people from falling victim to it.
“We also hope to send a warning to the perpetrators, that their actions will not go unhindered. Working with Royal Mail, Spring Global Mail and other members of the postal industry, we aim to clamp down on this crime and make it as hard as possible for the people responsible for it to operate.
“We would like to thank Royal Mail and Spring Global Mail for working with us to take this important step in the continuing fight against mass marketing fraud.”
In addition, Iain McLure, CEO of Spring, said that it was the right decision to target the scammers. McLure stressed the importance of raising awareness of the problem.
