February 2010 has been designated Scams Awareness Month. This is a national campaign to raise awareness of scams. It is run by the Office of Fair Trading and supported locally by Hampshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service.
Examples of scams include fake lotteries where the victim is told that they have won vast sums but have to pay a small amount to release the winnings. If they respond to this, they are then asked for increasing sums and the victim is drawn in and can lose vast amounts of money.
In one case we have dealt with, the victim has paid out over £100,000 and is now at risk of losing her home. The website www.thinkjessica.com gives real examples of the way scams can devastate lives. A major problem can be convincing the victim that it is a scam and persuading them to stop sending money.
In most cases the scams come from outside the EU where Trading Standards have no jurisdiction and are therefore powerless to stop them at source. They are therefore raising awareness to stop people falling for them.
The message is -
- Beware of all unsolicited mail – If it looks too good to be true it probably is. In particular genuine competitions will never ask you to pay to obtain a prize you are said to have won
- Throw any scam mailings away in the recycling bin
- Anyone responding to a scam mailing risks going on a so-called “suckers list" and be deluged with mail
- If you know of a vulnerable person who receives excessive unsolicited mail it could be because they are a victim. It is worth talking to them about it or flagging up with carers
- If you are the victim of a scam call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06
Local events
- Friday 5th February 9am - 3pm at ASDA,
Maynard Road,
Totton,
SO40 32A
- If your group would like a talk or further information call Trading Standards on 01962 833620, e-mail: doorstep.crime@hants.gov.uk
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