Royal Mail delivering 'human tragedy' of scam mail

[ziko]

I am struggling with my math. 1.7 Billion - 1.3 Billion what...? Help..

[bensonhedge]

Royal Mail sent scam mail to its own employees in the form of colleagueshare certificates.

[chunk]

Maybe 30% of mail is "junk" depending on your definition of junk, addressed v non addressed etc,
but not all junk is scam mail this is a much smaller % of the total more likely 1 or 2 %
No consolation to the relatives of scammed elderly people though.

Never trust the media with statistics 70% of cats said their owners didnt have whiskers.

[ziko]

The good news is that Marilyn Baldwin has noticed a 10% decline in the mail year on year..............

[Judgee]

Royal Mail sent scam mail to its own employees in the form of colleagueshare certificates.

wish they'd put that in the program!

[andy2007]

I totally agree that something should be done.
i think rm "drag there heels" because all revenue is good.
i do resent the implication that only rm deliver junk mail.
or that private companies dont ,
or even that things would improve in a more deregulated/privatized world.
Only governmental or police led action can solve this if companies wont take responsibility.

Sadly (and very emberrasingly!) RMG own 33% of Spring Global, who are providing the means for these Criminals to abuse British Law, to get this crap delivered. Also, the "Local Look" facility, makes it seem legitimate. Not just because it's delivered by Posties, but because British Law, makes it illegal for such scams to be posted in Britain. So the assumption, is often: "it can't be a scam, because it originates in Britain, and it's from a trusted service (RM)". That's how the Criminals make so much money out of it. If it was delivered with a foreign Postmark, people would be more suspicious. Because the senders would be governed by the laws of their own Countries, which won't neccessarily prevent Scam Mailings. Have a look in here: http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... =6&t=13462" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; this thread contains a link to the Think Jessica site, and details about the campaign.

And as for the idea that more deregulation, or privatisation would improve the situation. I mean, come on! That's just ludicrous! Spring Global are motivated by profits, and by failing to do anything about it, until the pressure from Think Jessica got too bad. No doubt RMG too. Does ANYONE seriously think that a private company, either RM, or a competitor. Would turn down all that extra profit?

What's needed, is a change in the Law. To allow Scam Mailings to be removed from the system BEFORE it's delivered. Even if it's already in an MC or DO. How many times have these Scams been noticed, but we've been forced to deliver them anyway?
But we can't do a damn thing about it, without risking our jobs. Or potentially, even a Criminal Record!

[andy2007]

In case you weren't aware, tonights Panarama at 8.30pm is about direct mail in the UK.

Heard about this on the news today. Apparantly RM own like 1/3rd of a company who forwards foreign con-mail from an address in the UK to make it look legit! shocking really...

Yes it is. We've had a "Sticky" in the Customers Section for a couple of years, warning Customers about this. And of course providing a Link to the Think Jessica site: http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... =6&t=13462" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; In the hope that we can warn at least those who come on here too. But it's good to hear that it's being brought to much more people's attention, through National TV.

[andy2007]

Same old bloody woman on it complaining that her stupid mother was taken in by it. She does the rounds every 6 months or so banning her drum on this issue.

I don't blame her, letters like those prey on old folk. I had a guy on my walk that would get about 100 of them per week. He was a widower and lonely and was easily taken in by them.

Precisely! It's all well and good having a Website. But despite the increasing numbers of "Silver Surfers", there are still a huge number of old and vulnerable people out there, who don't have Internet access, or simply haven't seen the site. Putting the information on the TV and Radio, increases the chances of people finding out, before they end up being preyed upon by these evil Criminals! AnTi, would you still be referring to her as that "same old bloody woman", if it was one of YOUR Relatives who'd been caught out by Scam Mailings?

[POSTMAN]

The 1st part of the program was complete and utter tosh i though.
The 2nd part i understood and it's well versed on here but not everyone had dementia.

Scam mail should be stopped of course it should but there are/were laws where a lot couldn't be done,that seems to be changing which is a good thing.

As for the junk mail shite,don't talk bollox.

[fishtank]

Is Readers Digest or the others that say you have/could have/might have won a fortune....scam mail?
Is the Sun Life over 50 plan scam mail?
They are certainly all out there to fleece the unsuspecting so is there really a big difference?

[andy2007]

Yes, for 3 reasons:
1) They ask for sensible amounts of money, whereas the Scammers ask for large amounts of money (£100s or even £1,000s!).
2) They don't put those who respond, on lists to distribute to their counterparts. Which results in dozens, or even in some cases, over 100 letters per day. And no-longer ASKING for money, but DEMANDING it.
3) They don't intimidate recipients into changing their Wills, or sell their homes, so they can get £100,000s more from them (bearing in mind how much houses are worth these days).

There's a MAJOR difference, between tricking people into thinking that they've already won a REAL prize draw (when in fact they only have a chance of doing so). In a Country where the law states that the draw MUST exist, and that the prizes MUST exist, and be GENUINELY random.

[fishtank]

There's marketing...then slightly further along the blurry line there's pressure selling...then slightly further again there's scam mail.
The point is Andy....it's all on the same line and difficult to pinpoint where one ends and the next begins.

[stokes11eg]

There's marketing...then slightly further along the blurry line there's pressure selling...then slightly further again there's scam mail.
The point is Andy....it's all on the same line and difficult to pinpoint where one ends and the next begins.

Sadly, lots of old folks are taken in by this mail. i was very surprised though, to see how much it actually costs to dispose of this--maybe if every person RTS this junk mail, and the companies involved had to shell out for disposing of this mail,??

[sevenandseven]

Firstly was this Panorama programme made for children? They had the presenter zipping off to some island in Scotland to pick up - and distribute pizza leaflets ha! ha! that was funny - then down to Cornwall , then wandering in a wood cutting down trees. His time would have been better spent explaining the difference between leaflets, so called direct mail and scam mail. Leaflets are simple. They are not just delivered by Royal Mail. Local restaurants do it, they fall out of local papers and oddly the Radio Times. Direct mail most usually comes from reputable companies. But scam mail is different. It is deliberate fraud. Stop it at source but another way would be to stop the companies selling mailing lists, the banks, the mail order companies, magazine subscriptions etc. Wouldn't stop it but might reduce the volume.

[stokes11eg]

Firstly was this Panorama programme made for children? They had the presenter zipping off to some island in Scotland to pick up - and distribute pizza leaflets ha! ha! that was funny - then down to Cornwall , then wandering in a wood cutting down trees. His time would have been better spent explaining the difference between leaflets, so called direct mail and scam mail. Leaflets are simple. They are not just delivered by Royal Mail. Local restaurants do it, they fall out of local papers and oddly the Radio Times. Direct mail most usually comes from reputable companies. But scam mail is different. It is deliberate fraud. Stop it at source but another way would be to stop the companies selling mailing lists, the banks, the mail order companies, magazine subscriptions etc. Wouldn't stop it but might reduce the volume.

Good point--and I wonderonder why this selling of your information doesn'e come under the data protection act.