Scam mail war claws back £108k

Royal Mail has hit back at criticism of its handling of scam mail by revealing that more than £108,000 has been returned to victims of prize draw scams following a joint crackdown with National Trading Standards.
The campaign was launched in June and works by intercepting mailings sent in response to rogue companies; so far over 6,000 people have had their money returned to them. As part of the ongoing operation, local Trading Standards officers are warning 160,000 known victims of the crime.
Louise Baxter, head of Trading Standards scams team, said: “It is often very difficult to persuade vulnerable, often elderly, individuals that letters telling them they have won large sums of money are scams.”
Tony Marsh, director of security at Royal Mail said: “We are very pleased to be part of this initiative to protect some of our most vulnerable customers.”
Exact figures for the value of scam mail are sketchy at best. According to Marilyn Baldwin, who founded the “Think Jessica” campaign in memory of her mother who was a victim of multiple scams, the market has exploded in recent years and now costs UK consumers more than £10bn.
Last month Baldwin criticised a new initiative – which predates this campaign – designed to improve awareness of scam mail among postmen and women.
Under the scheme Trading Standards will determine whether a mailing is fraudulent and alert Royal Mail, before writing to the identified company requesting they stop posting the items. Alongside this, Royal Mail will warn the company about its actions before cancelling its contract if it continues to post fraudulent items.
But speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said the new initiative is still not enough. “Some victims are getting up to 100 scam letters a day. But concerned relatives are powerless to act unless they have the power of attorney.”

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