Yahoo Finance Royal Mail workers being paid thousands of pounds by gangs to steal bank cards
Royal Mail workers are being offered thousands of pounds by gangs to intercept letters containing bank cards and PIN numbers.
A BBC investigation revealed that employees of the postal service were being offered £1,000 a week to steal cards, after one of its journalists posed as a postman and responded to an advert online.
Royal Mail did not disclose how many workers have been convicted for such incidents, but said “the theft of mail is very rare.”
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According to trade body UK Finance, more than 11,000 people in the UK fell victim to this type of fraud in 2016.
The investigation, which was carried out by BBC’s Inside Out West Midlands, saw a reporter persuade a gang member to meet him after a few weeks of building up trust.
A meeting with the gang member was secretly filmed outside the bus station in Lewisham, south-east London.
“We’re going to tell you, for example, that Ms *****, she’s going to have a letter from NatWest,” the gang member told the undercover journalist.
“Any letters from NatWest for Ms *****, intercept. As simple as that.
“If you open up a new account you’re going to get your card and you’re going to get your PIN, right? Two letters, that’s all it is.
“We do that, you intercept the letters, bring them back to us, you get paid.”
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During their second meeting in a park in south London, the journalist confronted the contact. The gang member refused to comment and ran away when being questioned.
Royal Mail would not comment on the number of workers who have been prosecuted for stealing mail since the company’s privatisation in 2013. However, the BBC reported that 1,759 Royal Mail workers were convicted of theft between 2007 and 2011.
A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: “We take all instances of fraud – alleged or actual – very seriously.
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“Our security team is reviewing the programme’s findings as a matter of urgency and will continue our close and ongoing cooperation with the relevant law enforcement agency.
“The overwhelming majority of postmen and women do all they can to protect the mail and deliver it safely. The safety and security of mail is of the utmost importance to Royal Mail.
“We deliver millions of items safely every day and the theft of mail is rare. The business operates a zero tolerance approach to any dishonesty. We prosecute anyone we believe has committed a crime.”
