Crime Desk
Fraud prevention detectives have today, Tuesday 25 January, seized a haul of scam post in a bid to tackle the UK-wide fraudulent mail blight.
In the first operation of its kind, officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Economic and Specialist Crime Unit (Operation Sterling) took possession of a bulk delivery of scam mail intended for vulnerable victims across the UK and searched and closed five virtual offices used by the scammers.
Sent by professional fraudsters, the letters are designed to con recipients into investing in bogus schemes such as fake lotteries, share frauds and inheritance scams. They depend on persuading victims to transfer money to the criminals based on promises of valuable goods, services, or benefits that are never delivered.
After replying to the first 'tempter' letter, victims' names are put on a 'suckers' list which is then sold to other criminals all over the world. Sucker lists are comprised of some of the most vulnerable people in society, namely the elderly and those suffering from illnesses such as dementia.
Chronic victims of scam mail end up being hounded by numerous criminal organisations and an estimated £3.5 billion is 'scammed' from UK citizens each year. Around £2.4 billion of this is believed to be as a result of mail scams.
The operation - which is being run in partnership with Royal Mail and international mail service provider Spring Global Mail - is part of a long-running police investigation into the organised criminal networks behind these scams.
The investigation began earlier this year when detectives, with the help of Trading Standards and other police forces, contacted 11 scam mail victims from across the UK who had been repeatedly targeted. These people were receiving more than 100 letters each week, the majority of which originated from outside the UK.
The 11 victims were asked to collate their post over a four-week period. This post was taken to New Scotland Yard where it was analysed. It was then sent to the Crown Prosecution Service, where a senior lawyer deemed it to be illegal under the Fraud Act 2006.
Postal marks printed on the envelopes - known as a postage paid impression (PPI) - were then used to trace the post back to source. This was done with the help of Royal Mail and Spring Global Mail.
In one case, a total of 27 scams were linked to one PPI. In a bid to crack down on the criminals behind these scams, Royal Mail and Spring Global Mail agreed to alert police when the next shipment of post bearing this PPI arrived in the UK.
Today detectives visited a UK sorting office where they seized the freight and impounded it.
The letters will become exhibits in a criminal investigation, providing detectives with an opportunity to identify chronic victims of crime, and the perpetrators of that crime, and to take appropriate action.
At the same time, five return addresses or 'virtual offices' in London identified as part of the scam process were shut down and searched for criminal evidence. These addresses are privately rented mail boxes.
As well as stopping hundreds of items of scam mail from reaching vulnerable targets, detectives hope today's operation will send warning messages to both the victims and perpetrators of this crime.
Working in partnership with Royal Mail, Spring Global Mail, other UK mail providers and the virtual office industry, the police will continue to look at measures to disrupt and frustrate scam mail entering and leaving the UK and to prevent the exploitation of legitimate services by organised criminal networks.
Detective Superintendent Mark Ponting, head of prevention and disruption for the MPS's Economic and Specialist Crime Command, said: "The individuals behind this type of crime are cynical and pernicious, making their living by targeting and exploiting some of the most vulnerable and needy people in our society.
"For many of these victims, the bombardment of scam mail results in fear, severe financial difficulties and ultimately a decline in both physical and mental health.
"In at least five cases in the UK, it has ended in suicide.
"We hope that today's action, and the action that we will take in the future, will raise awareness of this crime amongst all sectors of society and prevent more people from falling victim to it.
"We also hope to send a warning to the perpetrators, that their actions will not go unhindered. Working with Royal Mail, Spring Global Mail and other members of the postal industry, we aim to clamp down on this crime and make it as hard as possible for the people responsible for it to operate.
"We would like to thank Royal Mail and Spring Global Mail for working with us to take this important step in the continuing fight against mass marketing fraud."
Iain McLure, CEO of Spring, said: "Targeting the senders of the mail is the correct action - the police have got this right. Raising awareness is also a key part of the solution to this problem."
Gary Simpson, International Director, Royal Mail, said: "We don't want any of our postmen or women handling or delivering mail that causes harm or is criminal in intent. Royal Mail is working hard with the police to clamp down on this type of distressing activity."
Marilyn Baldwin, of victim support group Think Jessica, said: "My mother Jessica was in her late seventies and suffering from (undiagnosed) age-related declining mental health when she was hunted down by scam mail criminals.
"For five years I tried to convince my mum that she was being scammed, but criminals claiming to be clairvoyants, lottery officials and solicitors led her to believe the family were against her - she would not co-operate.
"The only help I could find was lip service. I believe that the 30,000 scam letters we removed from her home contributed to her death in 2007.
"I started the campaign www.thinkjessica.com three years ago and during that time we have been alerted to thousands of elderly and vulnerable silent victims who are being tricked, 'befriended' and threatened by criminals worldwide. Some receive up to 100 scam letters a day, many have sold their homes and emptied their bank accounts to keep up with the criminals' demands.
"I cannot praise operation Sterling enough for the support they have given Think Jessica and their commitment and determination to help stop this evil trade.
"I am thrilled that Royal Mail, Spring Global Mail and the MPS are working together. I think we have turned a corner and along with our future awareness campaigns, we are now on the right road to protecting our most vulnerable and deterring those who prey on them."
If you are a victim of mass marketing fraud contact Action Fraud to report it or to get advice: www.actionfraud.co.uk. Alternatively, report the fraud to your local police station. Further advice can be found at www.met.police.uk/fruadalert/index.htm
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Frequently Asked Questions:
= what will happen to the post?
The letters will be seized as exhibits as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
They will provide detectives with an opportunity to identify victims of crime and the perpetrators of that crime.
= How do you trace post back its source?
The PPI licence number printed on the letters will enable detectives to trace the "PPI licence holder".
Using the PPI licence holder, detectives will then be able to trace the scam back to its source.
N.B. It should be noted that the "PPI licence holder" is not necessarily the scammer. A PPI licence holder can sell the use of their licence number to a series of companies. Each of these companies will be identifiable by an individual number called an HQ number. These companies will send their post to the PPI licence holder who will in turn send the mail on for distribution.
= What action will Royal Mail take after the seizure?
Following the seizure, Royal Mail will write to the licence holders informing them that their licence number has been used in connection with criminal activity.
The licence holder will then be given 14 working days to bring an end to this activity. If they fail to halt the activity within that time, their licence will be terminated.
= Source of the mail?
Enquiries reveal that there are around 16 countries from which the mail emanates. These are: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Samoa, South Africa, Switzerland, UK, Canada, USA, Japan.
= Why don't you just arrest the criminals?
The scams predominantly originate from abroad.
The MPS is looking to arrest suspects where possible however most of the suspects do not reside within the UK jurisdiction. The MPS will share information with colleagues abroad where possible.
= Why can't Royal Mail/Spring Global Mail just cancel the PPIs?
They can and will.
Once Royal Mail has officially been informed that a PPI licence number is being used by scam mailers they will write to that licence holder informing them that their licence number has been used in connection with potentially criminal activity.
The licence holder will then be given 14 working days in which to halt this abuse.
If they fail to halt the activity within that time, their licence will be terminated.
= Which other members of the postal industry are involved in this operation? If they are not involved, why not?
This criminal investigation emanated from a pilot project launched earlier this year to identify ways in which the MPS can best identify and disrupt enablers of mass marketing fraud.
This is the first time a project like this has been undertaken.
Further engagement will be made with further UK and international mail providers as the criminal investigation progresses.
= Why has it taken so long for an operation like this to take place?
To date, mass marketing fraud has been dealt with under the auspices of organisations such as Trading Standards and the Advertising Standards Authority.
Increasing awareness of the extent and seriousness of the problem, as highlighted by organisations such as the Think Jessica campaign, coupled with changes in fraud legislation mean that mass marketing scams should now clearly be viewed as a criminal rather than a civil matter.
= Will there be a prosecution?
This operation began as a scoping exercise to establish the extent of the problem of mass marketing fraud.
The MPS has established, in consultation with lawyers at the Crown Prosecution Service, that criminal offences are being committed.
Following today's seizure, this is now a criminal investigation. Depending on the strength of the evidence gathered and the advice of expert lawyers in the Crown Prosecution Service a criminal prosecution will be pursued where appropriate.
= What is illegal about this scam mail?
The Introduction of the Fraud Act 2006 in January 2007 is significant in relation to this scenario. Under this legislation, an actual loss does not have to be proven as a result of any misrepresentation and falsity. What is critical however is proving that there was a dishonest intent on the part of the maker of any false representation. It does not necessarily mean that a person was actually taken in by the scam by way of a letter or otherwise.
= What is the difference between scam mail and junk mail?
Scam mail can be distinguished from what is known as junk mail because the latter is not primarily designed to influence recipients to spend money on the basis of what are alleged to be false representations or promises.
= What happens if an innocent person's personal mail is seized?
As in any criminal investigation, property that is unconnected with the investigation will be returned to owner. However, we anticipate that the mail boxes we have identified are used entirely for criminal enterprise.
= Is this action by the police not illegal?
Mail seized through Spring Global Mail is freight and does not fall within The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 until it reaches the Royal Mail sorting system. Any return mail will have been delivered to its final destination, i.e. the virtual office, and can be seized as evidence under section 19 of the PACE Act.
= What other police forces/stakeholders were involved in the operation?
Westminster Council Trading Standards, East Sussex County Council Trading Standards, Kent County Council Trading Standards, Hampshire County Council Trading Standards, Lancashire Police
= What is Operation Sterling?
Operation Sterling is responsible for the economic crime prevention strategy for London. Launched in February 2005, Operation Sterling takes a pro-active prevention approach to reducing opportunities for fraudsters and combating economic crime. Officers host a number of industry forums in which they share best practice and work to design out fraud by reviewing and mitigating risk that the public and industry face. By focussing their activity on key crime enablers, such as virtual offices and false identity documents, they have a significant impact on the disruption of organised criminal networks.
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