Parcel scam shut down.
brian lashley
18/10/2008
A PARCEL scam targeting householders in Greater Manchester has been shut down.
The premium rate phone line con was run by a company called Studio Telecom in Belize, central America, and it was fined £10,000.
The regulator Phonepay Plus, formerly ICSTIS, used emergency procedures to shut down the telephone line and freeze payments to the company following a flood of complaints.
Now it has moved to end internet rumours that the scam is still running.
Houses across the country were targeted in the scam, with householders arriving home to find a card from a firm calling itself Parcel Delivery Service on the mat.
The legitimate looking cards said an attempt had been made to deliver a parcel, such as a digital camera, to the address and the person should call the telephone number on the card.
The number was a premium rate line charged at £1.50 per minute and the call could have lasted up to 5 minutes 50 seconds, costing up to £9
Sgt Simon Cropper, of Tameside police, said: "People need to be vigilant especially towards Christmas.
"With the delivery of Christmas presents we would ask people to be mindful because not every telephone number they are asked to call may be legitimate."
A spokesman for Phonepay Plus said: "We are aware that a chain email about an alleged postal scam is being circulated on the internet.
"The email refers to the Royal Mail, Trading Standards and ICSTIS, Phonepay Plus' former name.
"The email refers to a service that was shut down by us.
"We subsequently fined the company that was operating the service.
"The service is no longer running and you do not need to contact us or the Royal Mail as it says in the chain email."
The email asks readers to circulate it `especially as Christmas is fast approaching' and says details have been confirmed by Royal Mail and Trading Standards.
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