Many fraudsters use the post to contact potential victims.
Common postal scams
Lottery prize draw scam
The bogus lottery winner and prize draw letters often suggest that the recipient has won a large cash prize, even if they have never entered the competition. They are usually very colourful and eye catching. The recipient is asked to provide information to receive their 'prize' and this usually includes paying an upfront 'claim fee'. In reality, the large cash prize is non existent and the 'winner' receives either nothing at all or a prize which is worth much less than the claim fee that they had to pay.
Clairvoyant scams
Clairvoyant letters encourage their recipients to pay money to obtain 'lucky charms' or hear 'good news' and can sometimes be threatening, encouraging victims to pay to avoid something bad happening to them.
Top tips
- Never respond to a scam letter.
- You can't win a competition you never entered - never divulge personal or financial information or send money to claim your 'prize'.
- When you register to vote, tick the opt out of the 'edited register' (also known as the open register) as this can be used to send unsolicited marketing mail.
- Either tear up or drop the letter in your recycling or write 'not known at this address' and put it back in the post without a stamp. This may disrupt the activities of the scammers.