What you need to know about Mail Order Fraud

When the mails are used to intentionally
misrepresent a product or service it constitutes
Mail Fraud. The Royal Mail Postal Inspection
Service is charged with investigating violations
of law, usually in response to consumer
complaints.


The best way to protect yourself from Mail Fraud
is to recognise that it is fraud and not becoe
involved. This is not easy to do because of the
attractive wording in the deceptive ads. Anything
that sounds too good to believe is suspect.
Medical formulas and gadgets that make insane
promises are probably insane and you should stay
away from them. Especially be cautious regarding
some of the thousands of different weight loss
products and overnight cures.


Never purchase land through a mailorder ad unless
you or your personal representitive has seen the
land, to determine if it is as represented and
that the value is there. If the sales person has
shown you the property report you can cancel your
purchase agreement within seven days. If no
report was shown to you before signing an
agreement you have the right to cancel out within
two years.


There are a number of insurance frauds floating
through the mails. Requests to sign blank
insurance forms, last chance bargain offers,
payments in advance and cash payment requirements
could indicate a con artist at work.

Of course, most everyone has received chain
letters sometime in their lifetime and if you are
in the mailorder business you should get several
every day as a minimum. Chain letters are illegal
and do not work anyway. Need we say more?

We've all seen the ads offering job placement and
job opportunities. Most of them are legitimate but
some are 100% non existent or complete
misrepresentations. Do not spend your money for the
required fee until you have checked with your local
Citizen Advice Bureau or Trading Standards Office.

Then there are those who promise huge profits
without risk in commodities, stocks, oil, gold,
silver or coins, through the mail or over the
telephone.


There are hundreds of very fine investment
opportunities offered but you can't risk your
hard earned cash, or in some cases people have
lost their life savings to mail order or
telephone swindlers.

Several of the larger, well recognized firms have
gone bankrupt through internal fraud and
management manipulations carrying their client's
investments right down the drain with them. Always
use caution and investigate the company thoroughly
before you put up one penny.

Another favourite of the crooks is home
improvements. Quite often you never see them
after you sign a contract and pay them a deposit
to do the work. If they sees you brochures through
the post and the work they perform is not as
represented by the information it could
constitute mail fraud. Get estimates from local
service companies to determine if the price of
the mailorder offering is reasonable and in line.
Check the references of the organisation.


The laws, regulations and paperwork involved in
setting up franchise operations are horrendous.
Various large distributorships are equally
difficult to establish but generally do not have
to conform to near as many controls and
regulations.


On the other hand, some mail order
distributorships and wholesale outlets require
very little effort and the home company has
little control over their activities. If profits
promised are unrealistic or if the product or
service is secondary to selling the franchise or
distributorship, proceed with caution.