Internet fraud

Fraudulent communications typically concern requests for advance wire transfers of money to pay for goods ordered on the internet, before the goods will be allegedly shipped by TNT. Or it concerns messages that request an advance payment before the release of some lottery prize, or for apartment keys.

TNT does not offer any escrow (third-party) services. If you are asked to pay in advance for such a service via Western Union or similar agencies, this is an indication of fraud.

We advise all customers to beware of such requests for advance on-line payments, and that the existence of a consignment number (or tracking number) is not necessarily proof that a consignment is in the custody or control of TNT.

If you are in any doubt as to the authenticity of any TNT communication or whether TNT is in fact delivering a shipment intended for you, please contact our customer service department in your country. You will find the relevant (national) customer experience telephone number on the relevant TNT Country website.

TNT does everything reasonable in its power to prevent these scams from happening. Our customer service, security and legal departments work closely together to inform our customers of scams and to take them down. Furthermore, we co-operate with (inter-)national organisations (including governments, Western Union, eBay, Office of Fair Trading) to help prevent internet scams.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE BEEN A VICTIM

In order to close down a fraudulent website or email address as soon as possible, and hence prevent any further scams, we ask you to forward the fraudulent email message to e-crime@tnt.com. Please be informed that you will not receive a reply after you have forwarded the email message.

Further, we advise you to report the case with the local police. There have been instances that have actually led to arrests.

How TNT combats fraud

Those customers that receive fraudulent communication are asked to forward as much information as possible to us. This information is passed on to our global security department, which gathers whatever evidence is available. We then use the information to formally approach the company that hosts the fraudulent web site or email address. We work closely with most major Internet Services Providers (ISPs), including Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL. Once TNT Express sends the ISPs the paperwork, action is normally taken within 24-48 hours. Thanks to these combined efforts, more than 1,500 scam websites and email addresses have already been shut down.
During this process, we also provide the customer with advice and assistance in working with the police if the customer decides to report the case. There have been instances that have actually lead to arrests.

Raising awareness

For many years there has been a focused effort to inform and educate all customer services staff of the e-Crime problems faced by TNT.. These internal platforms and documents have been successful at raising the awareness of e-Crime within the company. This communication has taken several forms including:

■  meetings between Global Security and Compliance and Customer Service
■  the publication of regular newsletters
■  the circulation of standard responses to customer enquires
■  guides to assist Customer Service in the identification of and response to
    e-Crime incidents.

Further advice

e-Auction or internet-related matters

If you have conducted internet purchase transactions using eBay, we recommend that you review the information concerning the use of payment services contained in eBay's Security Centre. 

Western Union also provides guidance on consumer fraud awareness on their global website.