Issue Date:  -  Tuesday, 15 February 2005

Thousands of seized scam letters destroyed

More than ten thousand letters promising great wealth and tempting consumers to participate in an illegal pyramid scheme have today been destroyed under the scrutiny of Australia Post and the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection.

The David Rhodes Chain Letter, which was the subject of numerous consumer warnings across Australia, was recently brought to book in WA with over 1,400 people who were promoting the scam receiving formal warnings and letters of undertaking they must sign or risk prosecution. Almost 100% compliance was the result of these warnings being sent.

180,000 letters across Australia were seized by postal and consumer law enforcement agencies which led to the profiling and targeting of the 1,400 WA people.

Consumer Protection agencies across Australia have co-ordinated their efforts to target participants.

“With the first wave of our investigations concluded we are destroying over ten thousand letters in WA obtained during the process”, Consumer Protection Commissioner Patrick Walker said.

“Thanks to valuable co-operation from Australia Post and Amcor Australasia, these illegal and annoying chain letters will be pulped and recycled to become useful products, such as cardboard boxes, toilet tissue or kitchen towels”, he said.

Hundreds of the WA chain letters had five-cent coins attached to attract the recipient’s attention and these have been removed by Consumer Protection staff and will be given to the Australian Red Cross towards their Tsunami relief efforts.

“The seizure and destruction of this material, along with the compliance letters to perpetrators has dealt a blow to organised scammers in this state”, the Commissioner said.

“Our efforts are augmented by hundreds of consumers who have had enough of rips offs and those who commit them. They are the eyes and ears of WA ScamNet and have been responsible for us receiving intelligence on more than 20,000 scams, rorts and rip-offs since 2002”, he said.