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Wiltshire residents urged to help in fight against scams

Wiltshire residents are being urged to post potential scam mail into designated collection boxes during Scamnesty month (February 2010). The initiative, being backed by Wiltshire Council’s trading standards team is part of a nationwide campaign by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). It aims to end mass marketing scam mailings in the UK which is estimated to cost the UK consumer £3.5 billion every year.

People are being asked to ‘drop in to drop them in it’ between February 1 and 26. The designated bins will be located in the following libraries: Amesbury, Bradford on Avon, Calne, Chippenham, Corsham, Cricklade, Devizes, Malmesbury, Marlborough, Melksham, Pewsey, Salisbury, Tidworth, Trowbridge, Warminster, Westbury, Wilton and Wootton Bassett. The Scamnesty bins will provide valuable intelligence to help inform future investigations which will prevent others from being scammed.

Christine Wells from Wiltshire trading standards, said: “We want the public to help us beat the scammers by taking part in Scamnesty and handing in these mailings. The letters collected will be vital in helping us gather intelligence on the latest scams and in stopping the worst offenders from continuing to bring misery to thousands of vulnerable people each year.”

Heather Clayton, OFT senior director, said: “Scamnesty 2010 promises to reveal a marked increased in scale and range of mass marketed scam mailings in the UK. Every day, people are at risk from unscrupulous fraudsters who want to con them out of their cash.”

Nearly half of the UK adult population has been targeted by a scam. Every year, 3.2 million adults – one in 15 people – across the country fall victim to scams such as bogus lotteries, deceptive prize draws and sweepstakes, fake psychics, get-rich-quick schemes and miracle health cures designed to con victims out of their cash.

People who think they have been the victim of a scam, or who suspect a scam can call Consumer Direct for clear, practical advice on 08454 04 05 06 or visit www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty. During Scamnesty month (February 2010), people can also report online scams to the ‘virtual bin’ on the Consumer Direct website.

1. The OFT estimates that over 3 million people in the UK fall victim to mass marketed scams every year, collectively losing £3.5 billion. Fewer than 5 per cent of victims report their experience – one reason for the scamnesty initiative.

2. The OFT’s advice to anyone who receives a possible scam offer is: ‘Stop, think, and think again’. Do not be rushed into sending off money straight away to someone you do not know. How likely is it that you have been especially chosen for this offer? Thousands of other people are likely to have received the same offer. Think again – read the offer carefully. If you are unsure, speak to family or friends or seek advice.

3. Recent research commissioned by the OFT involving 11,200 interviews found that 1,388,000 UK consumers fall victim to prize draw and sweepstake scams, 400,000 to bogus holiday clubs, 330,000 to work at home scams, 200,000 to miracle health scams, 170,000 to clairvoyant and psychic scams, 110,000 to loan scams.

4. Scams are an OFT priority. The OFT set up the Scams Enforcement Group with partner organisations focusing on law enforcement, consumer education and cooperation with private sector businesses to disrupt scammers’ routes to market.

Wiltshire Council Press Release 22/01/10

If anybody wants to report a scam and provide details, it may be dropped in to Aldbourne Library and I will ensure it reaches Marlborough Library collection box.

TR