ROYAL MAIL HELPING CONMEN DEFRAUD ELDERLY
It makes millions from heartless fraud letters that target vulnerable
ROYAL Mail is today accused of making millions from conmen who defraud the elderly on a massive scale.
Vulnerable victims lose vast sums through letter frauds sent by post – delivered under Royal Mail’s bulk-mail contracts.
It means the fraudsters behind the illegal letters get Royal Mail branding on their envelopes, making it easier to gain the trust of victims.
But despite repeated warnings about the scale of the fraud, the postal service refuses to crack down on the letters.
In a major undercover investigation, the international network of conmen – who make millions through their scams – were filmed laughing at their victims over lavish dinners, oysters and champagne. The Daily Mail today reveals that the scammers:
Call themselves a ‘mafia’ who ‘rip off’ elderly people;
Meet to swap ‘suckers lists’ of victims at extravagant conferences
across the world, where they mock the ‘ lonely’ and ‘ crazy’ people who ‘really believe’ the letters they send;
Make millions by targeting confused victims who will send money for ‘absolutely anything’;
Admit their mailings are ‘lying’, ‘fraud’ and ‘probably not’ legal – but boast they always get away with it as the authorities ‘don’t really care’;
Avoid UK authorities by using mailboxes in Switzerland and the netherlands – and hiding money in offshore accounts.
their letters include messages from fake clairvoyants, prize-draw scams and illegal advertisements for unlicensed health remedies.
Some persuade victims their families are trying to harm them and they need to send protection money – warning against telling those closest to them about the letters.
the findings raise serious questions for royal Mail – which has been warned for more than a decade that elderly customers are at risk.
campaigners last night accused royal Mail of ‘profiting from the criminal exploitation of the elderly’ and said it was ‘disgraceful’ its logo was allowed to appear on fraudulent post.
Business minister Margot James said she would be summoning royal Mail to demand immediate action.
She said: ‘i’d like to thank the Daily Mail for their work in highlighting this case. Mass-marketing scams target some of the most vulnerable people in the UK and should not be tolerated.’
elderly Britons are thought to lose up to £5.8billion a year in postal scams – with dementia sufferers often falling victim.
One woman was ‘brainwashed’ into handing over £100,000. Often the issue remains hidden as victims are too afraid or ashamed to seek help.
Postmen told the Daily Mail they ‘hated’ being made to deliver the scam letters – but feared they would lose their jobs if they refused.
the scammers are even able to take advantage of royal Mail’s discounted bulk postage rates.
in a year-long investigation, the Daily Mail has traced a criminal network that makes millions in the UK in this way.
An undercover reporter went to a conference attended by the group in canada where conmen bragged of ‘reaping the profits’ from ‘ ripping off ’ victims. One French scammer said the royal Mail logo helped him dupe 400,000 Britons into thinking the ‘ Government allows’ their letters.
Yann Wenz said: ‘it’s better with royal Mail than without. it’s not right – but people are thinking that.’
Mr Wenz said his firm faced repeated problems with the UK’s ‘overprotecting’ authorities. But he said: ‘We want to stay [operating in the UK].’
Hundreds of scams get into the UK through royal Mail’s bulk contract with postal firm Whistl, formerly tnt Post, which is worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year to royal Mail.
Whistl is paid by firms such as Asendia to get bulk quantities of letters from abroad into royal Mail’s system.
Some of the scams that enter Britain through Whistl and Asendia have been banned in the US. the US Post Office said the letters were clearly ‘criminal frauds’ targeted at ‘elderly and vulnerable victims’. But royal Mail claims it cannot act as it is legally obliged to deliver any addressed letter, including those from Whistl.
Some victims receive sacks of scam letters every week, marked with royal Mail’s Whistl contract stamp.
louise Baxter, of national trading Standards, said the investigation showed how ‘criminal scammers around the world’ had ‘manipulated the postal system’.
Marilyn Baldwin, of anti-scam charity think Jessica, said: ‘it is an utter disgrace. elderly people are being preyed on by criminals through the post and yet the royal Mail, Asendia and Whistl simply shrug their shoulders. these companies are profiting from the criminal exploitation of the elderly.’
And Baroness Altmann, former pensions minister and campaigner for the elderly, said: ‘it is shameful to allow the [royal Mail] logo to be used by fraudsters. Urgent action needs to be taken.’
All postal firms involved said they abhorred scam mail but could not check what they were sending because of postal privacy. they said they made it clear to their clients that ille- gal letters should not be sent. royal Mail said it took the Daily Mail’s findings seriously, adding: ‘royal Mail does not knowingly distribute mail from fraudsters and we have terminated contracts where companies have been proven to be operating scam mail. We have contacted Whistl and other postal companies and asked them to review any suspect contracts as a matter of urgency.’
Whistl said it would ‘investigate all scam mail brought to their attention’ and it had brought the letters in from ‘an intermediary’ without knowing what they were or who the sender was. ‘We have no ability to see the actual content of the mail items,’ a spokesman said. ‘We contract in good faith with our customers that their mailings are legal.’
Asendia admitted it had held a contract with a firm that printed millions of scam mailings on behalf of fraudsters. But a spokesman said it ‘did not accept any responsibility for the mailings’ passed to Whistl and other partners for delivery through royal Mail.
Mr Wenz said his firm worked to stay on the right side of the law.
A spokesman said the company denied wrongdoing and was appealing to the european court to challenge its treatment by British authorities.
‘Urgent action needs to be taken’
IN a deeply disturbing investigation, this newspaper today exposes how Royal Mail is profiting from letter fraud conmen who prey on the elderly and vulnerable on an industrial scale.
These venal scam artists post every kind of attempted fraud – from bogus prize draws to fake clairvoyants and alternative health remedies – to trick their targets into handing over cash.
As our undercover reporter found, a sinister, self- styled ‘ mafia’ meet in exclusive resorts where they laugh at their victims over Champagne and oysters, exchange ‘suckers’ lists’ of targets and swap tips on how to exploit them.
The consequences can be devastating. In one case, an elderly woman was ‘brainwashed’ into handing over £100,000. In another, an 83-year-old lost £50,000.
But the only reason the con artists can get away with their wicked trade – and where the real questions from this investigation must be directed – is because of Royal Mail.
The fraudsters unwittingly reveal – and victims confirm – that the official Royal Mail logo gives these letters a sheen of authenticity. This once- venerated 500- year- old institution has been warned repeatedly about such rampant criminality but appears, shamefully, to turn a blind eye.
It is surely no coincidence that it reaps millions of pounds from the bulk mail contracts the scammers use to send their poisonous bait.
So widespread is the problem that one postman tells us he is reduced to warning people on his round about the letters he has to put through their doors.
Urgent action is now required. If the company’s tin- eared bosses will not move against a practice which besmirches the name of Royal Mail, then ministers surely must.