Postal Delivery Scam???

Home > NewsLetters > NewsLetters 2010 > December 2010/Jan2011

I was recently handed a piece of paper with information about a scam that could affect any of us, and saying that this has been confirmed by Royal Mail and Trading Standards.

I have checked the Crime Stoppers website, which staes:

“Crimestoppers parcel e-mail scam

A number of individuals have received an e-mail claiming to have been confirmed by Royal Mail and Trading Standards Institute and featuring a link to the Crimestoppers website [November 2010]. 　

The e-mail describes what to do if you receive a card posted through your front door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) and claims that this is a scam originating from Belize, designed to encourage members of the public to call a premium rate number through which they will be billed £315.

The e-mail states that for more information, see the Crime Stoppers website, followed by a link to the Crimestoppers site.

We can confirm that this e-mail was not issued by Royal Mail, Trading Standards Institute or Crimestoppers.

Advice from PhonepayPlus:

PhonepayPlus, the regulator of phone-paid services, offers the following advice about the email:

"The chain email refers to a service (operating on 0906 6611911) that was shut down by PhonepayPlus (then ICSTIS) in December 2005. PhonepayPlus subsequently fined the company that was operating the service, Studio Telecom (based in Belize), £10,000. The service is NO LONGER running and has NOT been running since December 2005. You do NOT need to contact PhonepayPlus, or the Royal Mail, about this service as it was stopped almost four years ago."

Visit the PhonepayPlus website for more information.

To obtain more information on scams please visit the Consumer Direct website or check with your local Trading Standards Office.”

So it would appear that with regard to this particular scam it was de-fused some time ago. But please stay vigilant. If you have any query, or if something seems suspicious, ring Trading Standards. And remember, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is!