Postal Services: Fraud Business, Innovation and Skills Writt

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Postal Services: Fraud
Business, Innovation and Skills
Written answers and statements, 31 January 2011


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John Spellar (Warley, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the prevention of mail scams targeted on vulnerable and elderly people.

* Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 31 January 2011, c601W)


Edward Davey (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs), Business, Innovation and Skills; Kingston and Surbiton, Liberal Democrat)

Combating scams is a priority area for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) whose staff will look into any mailings that are considered to be scams. Scams can be reported to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) through Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or by visiting:

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Government advises people to be very wary of any unsolicited offers which sound too good to be true, as they often are. And, in those cases where material is received through the postal system which is believed to promote a scam or fraud, recipients should report their suspicions to relevant bodies (for example, the Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Direct, local authority Trading Standards services, the Advertising Standards Authority, respective trade association or consumer body, and/or the police) for investigation and any appropriate action.

Royal Mail are working closely with the police and other bodies on ways of combating postal scams, with the aim of preventing scam mail getting into the postal system in the first place.