Met seizes 'scam mail' to stop foreign gang's £1bn fraud | News: "Police trying to disrupt a £1 billion fraud today seized a huge haul of 'scam mail' at a private west London sorting office.

It was the first operation of its kind, intercepting letters on their way to a South African fraud group's intended victims in Britain.

Scotland Yard is targeting foreign organised crime gangs behind a racket which rakes in an estimated £3.5 billion a year from conning victims into investing in fake lotteries, share deals or inheritance plans.

Hundreds, if not thousands of people have been taken in, and police revealed that at least five have committed suicide after being persuaded to transfer money to the criminals - with the promise of goods or benefits that are never received.

Those who reply to letters are put on 'sucker lists' which are then sold on to other criminals around the world. The lists usually include vulnerable people, including the elderly and dementia sufferers."

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