Serious Warning - Postal Scam

joanne72_uk · 30-10-2007, 12:00

[FONT='Verdana', 'sans-serif']Postal Scam
[/FONT][FONT='Verdana', 'sans-serif']Can you circulate this around especially as Xmas is fast approaching - it has been confirmed by Royal Mail. The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam:
A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number). DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.
If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 02072396655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk <http://www.icstis.org.uk/>
[/FONT][FONT='Verdana', 'sans-serif']
Check it out on http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/6120640.stm[/FONT]

slinky · 30-10-2007, 12:02

Thank you for that Joanne

A hell of a lot o people would just ring the number without thinking

BERNADETTE · 30-10-2007, 12:08

Thanks for the warning.

***Mr D*** · 30-10-2007, 12:20

Hear this every year.

IMO Everyone should know by now a 09 number is going to cost you.

But a good reminder all the same.

andrewb · 30-10-2007, 12:27

To be honest I think there should be new regulations where the phone company tell you the charge before you make the phone call. I know I shouldn't fall foul of the trick as I know about it, but a lot of people don't and its simply not fair that they have to pay through their noses to some scam.

cherokee · 30-10-2007, 12:57

Thanks for that joanne . sadly so many will fall for it
thieving scumbags ....

lancsdave · 30-10-2007, 13:03

It's a good idea to make people aware of anything out of the ordinary but in this case it's an old story which is not true anyway;

A STATEMENT FROM PHONEPAYPLUS ABOUT THE CURRENT
‘POSTAL SCAM’ CHAIN EMAIL

PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator, is aware that a chain e-mail about an alleged
postal scam is being circulated on the internet. The email refers to the Royal Mail, Trading
Standards and ICSTIS (PhonepayPlus’ former name).
PhonepayPlus appreciates that recipients of the email may want to find out more information
about the alleged scam and has therefore issued the following statement:

•

The chain email refers to a service that was shut down by us in December 2005.

•

We 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.

•

The email refers to a £15 charge for simply being connected to a recorded message.
This is NOT TRUE – a £15 connection charge does NOT exist. The service in question
actually cost £1.50 per minute and lasted six minutes, making a total cost of £9 if callers
stayed on the line for the full six minutes.

•

You do NOT need to contact us, or the Royal Mail, about this service as it was stopped
almost two years ago.

•

If you receive a copy of the email warning you about the alleged scam, please do NOT

forward it to others. Instead, please forward this statement from PhonepayPlus.

•

Please go to www.phonepayplus.org.uk/pdfs_news/ConsumerGuide.pdf for useful
information about how to recognise phone-paid services and understand what they cost,
and some simple tips to help you enjoy using services with confidence.

•

For more detailed information about our work, please visit www.phonepayplus.org.uk.

19 October 2007

firth_dawn · 05-11-2007, 00:11

thanks for the warning

blazey · 05-11-2007, 00:28

I remember that they had warnings in the charity shop windows about it the other year.

Of course, this scam may not be still going, but others can be easily set up, so maybe you should just not call any mysterious numbers EVER just to be on the safe side, regardless of the code. Turn your answerphone on and dont even dial back numbers u dont recognise if they havent left a message, scams can also work in similar ways over the phone, getting people to call back premium rate numbers, which i believe is actually more common than postal scams and also just as likely, if not more, to succeed for the scammer.