Your Questions Answered

See below for some of the questions that we're frequently asked

Either because scammers have "bought" a mailing list with your details on it or you have responded to a tempting letter, phone call or advertisement.

A great many organisations, businesses and age related charities "sell" their mailing lists; often advertising those on them as good targets for lotteries/ sweepstakes /catalogues and charities!

No. Registering with the MPS will only stop junk mail. Junk mail is a legitimate way of promoting goods and services.

Because they can't stop mail addressed to an individual by name. The Royal Mail has a legal obligation to deliver all addressed mail.

Scammers are very crafty. They know how to dazzle minds and shut down the normal thought process. Someone whose mind has been dazzled will become excited and start to focus on the prize rather than the fact that they are being asked to send cash to claim it.

Here are just a few of the dazzling words and statements scammers use:

Congratulations, Won The Lottery, Guaranteed Winner, Highly Confidential, Unclaimed Prize/ Award, Sworn to Secrecy, Time Sensitive Document.

Once scammers have dazzled and hooked their victims, they trap them in a never ending cycle of letters and payments by asking for taxes, release fees, administration charges and anything else they can think of to keep the victim sending cash.

To make the scams more convincing scammers often ask the victim how they would like the non-existent payment to be made e.g. Cash, Cheque or Money Transfer?

Scammers send out false testimonials and photographs of fictitious winners. They claim to be lottery officials, presidents of banks, solicitors, clairvoyants and use other important sounding titles and names.

Scammers sometimes disguise their mailbox addresses by calling them things like suites, units or apartments to create the illusion they are operating from a traceable office or grand building.

Scammers try to trick people into sending them passports, photographs and birth certificates and pretend they are arranging celebration parties or sending out photographers.

A chronic scam mail victim is someone who repeatedly falls for scams. This could be because they are over trusting, socially isolated or suffering from a mental incapacity such as age related declining mental health or dementia.

Chronic victims refuse to believe they are being scammed and spend most of their time reading sorting and replying to scams.

The scam mail knits together and forms a delusional world that becomes a victim's reality. Chronic victims shun all help and advice. Sometimes clairvoyant scammers turn the victim against their families.

Scam mail can come from anywhere in the world.