Couriers seem to be regarded as easy targets for the scam merchants.
They generally pretend to be agencies or 'clearing houses' — they offer to get work from customers and farm it out to owner drivers.
Some of the recent scams have these features:
- you have to pay a weekly or monthly amount by standing order to be on their books
- you have to fill in an application form and provide references which you get charged for
- they offer an hourly rate instead of loaded mile rates
- the promised pay is unrealistically high
- they offer 'shifts' with set hours
- they say they have lots of big customers who are crying out for couriers
- they use a 'virtual office' address
- they have an 0871 or 0870 contact number
- they use a premium-rate short text number
- they use 'specialist courier' in their blurb
