Royal Mail has launched an investigation after neighbours reported dozens of bank cards addressed to residents on the same street never arrived.
Thirty residents living on the same road in Crystal Palace, London, said their credit and debit cards have failed to arrive after being dispatched by their bank.
This includes replacement cards and PINs. At least six of the neighbours have been victims of fraud.
Among the victims, one person said criminals spent £1,000 on her debit card, and applied for another card using her personal details, The Telegraph reports.
The investigations have not determined whether this was street crime or not and investigations are ongoing.
Affected residents, who have requested the street is not named, said their banks had provided confirmation they had dispatched the cards
GETTY
Affected residents, who have requested the street is not named, said their banks had provided confirmation they had dispatched the cards.
The volume of missing bank cards first came to light after one of the residents queried a missing letter in the community WhatsApp group.
They later discovered the first incident occurred “up to a year ago”.
Royal Mail said an investigation is ongoing, and they are engaging with police.
Criminals stole more than £1.4million by intercepting posted bank cards in the first six months of this year, according to data from the trade association UK Finance.
Anna Claydon, 35, lost £1,000 after scammers got hold of her replacement credit card.
She got a text from her bank, verifying two suspicious payments, the day after the card had been due to arrive.
Ms Claydon said: “I had an inkling the card wouldn’t arrive because of all the messages on the street WhatsApp group. I flagged it as fraud.”
The scam victim’s bank told her they would send out a new card, via signed-for delivery, but it didn’t show up either.
She had informed the bank about her concerns it wouldn’t arrive but was told there wasn’t another way to send a card – not even to a branch.
While Ms Claydon was refunded the £1,000, fraudsters applied for a credit card in her name with another bank, and her credit score has now dropped by 50 points.
Debbie, another resident, was contacted by her bank after criminals tried to make an £826 payment on a replacement bank card, which had been posted but never arrived.
Debbie says she has contacted Royal Mail’s security department, sending a “comprehensive list” of the 35 residents who have been affected.
Fiona Nicholson also lives on the street and says two replacement debit cards from her bank have not arrived since a replacement card was first sent out in January.
She said: “Pretty much every resident on the street has had at least one disappear in the last year, if not two.
“[One neighbour] had an account’s overdraft of £750 emptied, another had two cards intercepted and attempts of £100-200 made on both and another had £400 taken.
“We’ve reported it to Royal Mail and the police.”
Ms Nicholson is so worried that she and her husband check their bank accounts every day in case they’ve been defrauded.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The safety and security of mail is of the utmost importance and we take any reports of theft very seriously.
“We are aware of the complaints from residents of this street and have an investigation ongoing. This includes engagement with the police.”
A Metropolitan Police statement said: “Police were contacted after a number of residents in the same street in Crystal Palace and Anerley reported that bank cards they had ordered had not arrived.
“It was unclear whether the cards had gone missing due to a distribution error.
“The residents had contacted Royal Mail and their banks. They were also advised to contact Action Fraud.
“The crime report has been closed pending any further evidence coming to light.”
