Spot and avoid a postal scam
Postal scams are letters sent with the sole intention of obtaining money through deception or fraud.
They typically offer something that sounds attractive but in reality doesn’t exist.
There’s always a catch – you’ll often have to pay up front to receive what’s on offer, and this type of scam is called advance-fee fraud. Two of the most common scams of this type are non-existent competitions and fake foreign lotteries.
Royal Mail is bound by a Universal Service Obligation and is required by law to deliver all mail entrusted to it. So don’t trust something just because it’s been delivered.
Before responding you should always consider whether what’s on offer seems too good to be true. If it does, then it’s likely to be a scam.
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Types of postal scams
There are many different types of scam mail, such as:
- fake lotteries and prize draws
- bogus health cures
- investment scams and pyramid selling
- brushing scams
It’s important to note there is a difference between scam mail and legitimate mail sent by companies to advertise lawful services or the sale of genuine goods. Read our guide if you want to put an end to unwanted marketing material or junk mail.
Lottery and competition scams
You may receive a letter saying you’ve won a large amount of money.
The first thing to do is to consider whether you’ve actually entered an online or overseas lottery or competition.
If you do respond and provide your personal information, the fraudsters will ask you to pay various fees so that they can release your non-existent winnings.
Each time you make a payment, the fraudsters will come up with a reason why your winnings can’t be paid out unless you make another payment.
Brushing scams
If you've received an unsolicited package, you could be a victim of a brushing scam. Brushing involves an unscrupulous seller sending usually cheap-to-ship items and then falsely logging it as a genuine sale in order to artificially inflate sales volumes.
Our 2021 investigation found that one million households in the UK had potentially been hit by Amazon brushing scams.
If you receive an unsolicited item from an Amazon marketplace seller, report the package to Amazon using its ‘Report Unwanted Package’ form.
You should also change your Amazon password and set up two-factor authentication, if you haven’t already done so.
The unsolicited package indicates that some of your personal information has been compromised, so you should take steps to check that everything is secure.
In particular, you should check your bank account for any unusual activity and keep an eye on your credit report.
Fake investments and pyramid schemes
Popular fake investment scams include wine clubs, precious stones and land. Beware of any offer too good to be true.
Pyramid schemes require you to join for a fee – and the only way to get back your money is to persuade other people to join and take their fees.
Scheme members are asked to sell goods or services through other members rather than direct to clients.
How to spot a postal scam
If you can tick off one or more of the following, it’s probably a scam and you should be suspicious:
- Bad spelling or poor grammar in a letter claiming to represent a company, royalty or a prize agency should be a clear warning the letter is not from a legitimate organisation.
- An unsolicited commercial or personal request. Do you even know of this company or person? If the name seems unfamiliar and you don’t recall ever signing up to the company or sharing details with them, you should be suspicious.
- Asking for money. Always start from the position that a request for money is to be treated with suspicion until proven otherwise.
- You’re asked to pay up front to receive what’s on offer – processing or handling fees are a con.
There are also certain letter styles that are often used in competition or lottery scam mail:
- coats of arms
- seals
- serial numbers
- barcodes
- watermarks
- reproduced signatures
- rubber stamps
A letter containing these and promising you’ve won a prize draw or lottery you’ve never entered should ring alarm bells and you should never reply.
Report a postal scam
Reporting scams helps Royal Mail investigate them with the relevant authorities.
If you believe that you, or a family member, are receiving mail from fraudsters you should report it.
Royal Mail provides a form that you can use to report scam letters. You can submit this online or send it to Freepost Scam Mail.
Or you can report any scam to Action Fraud or police Scotland by calling 101.
If you think you have given your details or paid money to a scammer, you should call your bank immediately using the number found on the back of your card.