Jon, I doubt it is even safe to assume that the limey-hating posts are American. I can get a broadband phone number with an area code and prefix anywhere in the US or Canada, just for instance, all legit.

Although I live in the US, two of my six email accounts are from European providers. It also pays to remember that these sorts of letters to the editors of online papers are seen everywhere in the world these days, and don't vary much in content, just the "fill in the blank" info, like the city, etc.