Beat The Scammers

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February is scam awareness month and as part of their ongoing work to increase awareness of scams, the OFT together with Trading Standards have launched ‘Scamnesty’, The campaign encourages people to drop their scam mail into local Scamnesty collections located around the country and will run from 1 - 26 February 2010.

Scams are schemes designed to con individuals out of money. The fraudsters use a number of tricks to cheat people, with the most common techniques comprising of phony offers posted on the internet or sent by post, telephone or e-mail. Fake prize draws, bogus psychic predictions, get-rich-quick investments and 'miracle' health cures are just some of the many tricks that scammers try.

The scammers are clever, and many people fall victim to their tactics which are often so powerful it can be difficult to say no. Every year, an estimated three million people fall victim to mass marketed scams although OFT research suggests that less than 5% of victims report the scam to the authorities.
Vulnerable groups such as the elderly are key targets for scammers and can become serious victims of scam mail. If an individual responds to one piece of scam mail, their name is put on a ‘suckers’ list and sold to scammers all over the world.
The picture below shows the amount of criminal mail received by a 92 year old pensioner in a single day!

Pensioner mail

For more information on scammers targeting the elderly visit www.thinkjessica.com

Scam warning signs:

If it sounds too goo to be true – it probably is

You are contacted out of the blue by phone, e-mail or letter asking for money or
banking details from someone you’ve never heard of

You have to make a quick decision - scammers will try to pressure you into making a
decision by saying things like 'If you don't act now, you'll miss out.'

If you're still unsure if you are being conned or just want some advice about scam mail you can call Consumer Direct for advice on 08454 04 05 06

Reporting the scammers can help to stamp out this intrusive criminal activity. You can find more information about the Scamnesty campaign and locate your nearest Scamnesty bin by visiting www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty