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Royal Mail clamping down on scam letters

News • 11th May, 17 • 0 Comments

 

Over the past few years there has been a large increase in the amount of people being targeted by ‘scam mail’ which are posted letters sent solely with the intention of obtaining money through deception and/or fraud. So, Royal Mail have launched a new initiative to combat this.

At FP Mailing, we were happy to hear that since November 2016 Royal Mail have successfully intercepted over 700,000 scam items from reaching their customers. As part of this ongoing battle, the new scheme will see Royal Mail contacting people that appear to be receiving high volumes of scam mail directly by Special Delivery.

So, what exactly is scam mail and what do you need to look out for? They can include:

• Bogus health cures
• Fake lotteries and prize draws
• Get-rich-quick schemes
• Investment scams
• Pyramid selling

Victims of this type of letters can often be elderly residents, so it’s good to hear that Royal Mail are taking the necessary steps to prevent post even reaching customers letterboxes in the first place.

The initiative works so that Royal Mail can block and impound scam mail at its major distribution centres, and impacted customers can contact a dedicated helpline or even arrange a home visit from staff to address any queries or concerns.

There is also a Scam Mail Report which you can fill out and send to FREEPOST SCAM MAIL. If this is something that you can help your clients and customers with, please do pass on the information and get in touch if you need further advice. So, what do you think of the new scheme, and has your business ever been a victim of scam mail? Let us know on Twitter using #ScamMail.  

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