Parcel Delivery Service scam

BritSwedeGuy

The Trading Standards Office have brought the following scam to the attention of the police: A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number). DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 02072396655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at [URL="http /www.icstis.org.uk"]http /www.icstis.org.uk[/URL] or your local Trading Standards Office.

This is definitely a scam, and this service is under investigation by ICSTIS. Please pass on this information to as many people as possible. It's also worth arranging to block 090 numbers on your 'phone line - contact your telephone service provider for details.

Poppycat

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=295601&highlight=ICSTIS

It has come to our attention that a chain e-mail has been circulating the internet. It makes reference to the Royal Mail, the City of London Police and Parcel Delivery Services. ICSTIS appreciates that consumers want to find out more information about this alert and have issued the following statement:
During the Christmas period 2005, a number of people across the UK received cards from Parcel Delivery Services (a service run through a service provider called Studio Telecom). When ICSTIS were informed of the content and promotion of this service we removed access to the service on 29 December 2005.
We do not believe that this service is operating again and have issued a statement to the industry to reiterate that they fulfill their responsibilities under our Code of Practice and ensure that any premium rate service running on their network abides by our regulation.

If you are invited to call a premium rate number (starting with the dialling code ‘090’) and believe there is a problem with the content, promotion or operation of the service then please call our Contact Centre for free on 0800 500 212. Our staff will be able to look up the number for you and
give you any information we have about it. Alternatively, you can check a number yourself at www.icstis.org.uk/consumers/ncd/default.asp

The email you received referred to a £15 charge. This is in fact an urban myth. It is not possible for a £15 charge to be made on connection. We also have a number of measures in place in our Code of Practice to ensure that consumers are protected from unexpectedly high charges. Calls and texts cost a maximum of £1.50 per minute. The particular service referred to in the chain email used a recorded message which lasted a maximum of 6 minutes - making the total cost £9.

superscaper

I think it would be better if people checked out email forwards first before posting them on forums as fact. Although people should be aware of the type of scam in general the specifics of this case as highlighted by poppycat are out of date. Personally I find http://www.snopes.com an invaluable source of information for investigation of urban myths.

trisontana

Even the Daily Mirror is reporting this as "new" news :-

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/mirrorinvestigates/tm_method=full%26objectid=18032439%26siteid=94762-name_page.html

superscaper

Daily Mirror = Investigative Journalism at its finest? I think not

wantmemoney

It would not be the first time Icstis turned a blind eye to a profitable scam (sorry I mean marketing ploy)

If you look at the Wrexham address.

Parcel Delivery Service/Studio Telecom
PO Box 2087
Wrexham
LL11 4QZ

Same addess here:
Kitching, Alix Faye Thornton and Heaven Communications Limited
Jackpot Promotions
PO Box 2087
Wrexham
LL11 4ZQ (think this is just a mistype)

whois Mr KITCHING.
http://www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press+releases/2005/55-05.htm

OFT acts against misleading premium rate prize giveaway

55/05 29 March 2005

The promoters of a premium rate prize competition called Jackpot Promotions have given undertakings that they will not use misleading advertising to promote such competitions, following action by the OFT.
John Timothy Kitching, Alix Faye Thornton and Heaven Communications Limited, trading as Jackpot Promotions, sent unsolicited automated telephone messages to over seven million consumers..
1. The undertakings were signed on 23 February 2005 by John Timothy Kitching, Alix Faye Thornton and Heaven Communications Limited (registered office: Apartment 81, The Quays, Concordia Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS1 4ES).

superscaper

wantmemoney wrote:

It would not be the first time Icstis turned a blind eye to a profitable scam (sorry I mean marketing ploy)

????? But they didn't, they shut down the phone numbers within the same month of the scam occuring. How is that turning a blind eye? Do you actually have an example of them ignoring any complaint?

wantmemoney

"The Great Phone Call Con".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4397308.stm
In 2004 the regulators, BT and almost certainly some ministers were fully aware that 20% of this multimillion pound fraud was being committed by a group of business men in partnership with Telecom One.
They were using 3,000 easily recognisable 0909967**** premium rate numbers supplied by Telecom One.
The numbers and service providers were under Icstis "investigation" from 1st Jan 2004 onwards. Alun Michael announced in parliament after the BBC programme that Icstis had recieved their last complaint concerning the companies in May 2005.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/cm051219/text/51219w12.htm
Sir Alistair Graham has recently identified the Telecom One "service providers" from this Ofcom investigation from May 2005.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/bulletins/comp_bull_index/comp_bull_...
They are the same Majorcan service providers responsible for "The Great Phone Call Con".
It is now clear that throughout 2004 and into 2005 Icstis and Ofcom had no evidence or reason to believe the services they were licencing and allowing BT to force thousands of families to pay for ever existed.

Today Tessa Jowell is trying to convince everybody it will be a good idea to encourage two of the companies and their directors who setup the Majorcan service providers to come "onshore" and target the UK public with their online gambling services.
Mean while Telecom One has just been "investigated" and given a "formal reprimand" by Icstis for their part in a fraudulent unsolicited mobile text message service.

Morten Sondergaard Pedersen was well known to Icstis. He was convicted of an almost identical telecom fraud in Hamburg in 2006.
He was a founding director of Telecom One in 1997.

Here's an example of a US facing online gambling two of the directors are behind
Superlotto US = High Media Ventures + SX Networks

Would you play cards with these people?
The USA is.

Heinz

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=294447

wantmemoney

????? But they didn't, they shut down the phone numbers within the same month of the scam occuring. How is that turning a blind eye? Do you actually have an example of them ignoring any complaint?

Icstis turned a blind eye for Seventeen months in this multi million pound fraud.
The Great Phone Call Con 11/11/2005

Premium Media Communications 01/01/2004 onwards

After the programme Alun Michael was forced to answer a question in parliament concerning the above Premium Media Communications and the other companies involved.

House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 19 Dec 2005 (pt 12)
19 Dec 2005 : Column 2331W
Alun Michael said:
"As ICSTIS has not had any complaints since May, Premium Media Communications may have withdrawn from the UK dialler market".

superscaper

wantmemoney wrote:

Icstis turned a blind eye for Seventeen months in this multi million pound fraud.
The Great Phone Call Con 11/11/2005

Premium Media Communications 01/01/2004 onwards

After the programme Alun Michael was forced to answer a question in parliament concerning the above Premium Media Communications and the other companies involved.

Fine, but I don't think the "turning a blind eye" comment is relevant to the OP in which the situation was resolved very quickly. Everything I said in my post is still true.