Delivery receipt fraud suspects nailed

Two suspects have been detained for allegedly profiting from the dealing of receipts bearing courier company information, Shanghai police said on Tuesday.

The suspects allegedly acquired over 3 million blank receipts for free from a supplier in the name of a courier company, sold them and profited over 5 million yuan (US$733,200).

Their buyers were contractors of the courier company who in this way could purchase the receipts cheaper than their market prices to save on operation costs, police said.

The rolls of receipts are used in electronic, handheld receipt printing machines that are being used more and more in the courier industry over the past few years.

Instead of supplying hand-written receipts, deliverymen print them out for clients after typing in the required information online.

Police in Qingpu District started to investigate the case in June when a courier company reported that its Xi’an branch found out that somebody acquired millions of blank receipts from a tech company without its consent.

After a few days, police located one of the suspects in Shenzhen city, Guangdong Province, a man surnamed Peng, and apprehended him on June 20.

Peng, a former employee of a tech company, allegedly confessed that he had acquired the receipts together with a man surnamed Yao, who works for a courier company, and sold them to others.

Yao was caught in Tonglu City, Zhejiang Province, three days later, and confessed as well, police said.