2 million targeted by conmen in 2009

Monday, 01 February 2010 11:26

Over 4 million people have responded to some form of scam in their lifetime while 2 million people have done so in the last twelve months, according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

At the launch of its '2010 Scams Awareness Month' the OFT said fraudsters were targeting unsuspecting people in increasingly sophisticated ways including post, email, text, phone or the internet

The OFT says nearly a third of the 4 million adults who say they have responded to a scam at some time in their life lost money amounting to well over 1 million people who have been affected.

Around half (49%) of those scammed lost more than £50 in total, with five per cent losing more than £5000.

Email is now the most common scam approach - 73% of adults have received a scam email in the past year. This is followed by scams via a letter (21%) and via text message (12%).

Social media sites also appear to be emerging as a new route for scammers with nine per cent of adults having received an approach this way, the OFT said.

Three in 10 adults who responded to a scam then received further correspondence from the scammer, with over half (54%) being asked to send money, and a third (36%) being asked to send personal information.

The OFT's 'Scams Awareness Month' is seeking to raise awareness of the scale of the problem with a nationwide 'Scamnesty' run in partnership with 129 local authority trading standards offices.

The campaign calls on consumers to drop scam mailings they have received into designated 'Scamnesty' bins or boxes at local libraries and public areas across the country.

Consumers looking for their nearest bin can do a postcode search at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty.

The site also features an online bin where people can send suspected scam websites and emails.

John Fingleton, chief executive of the OFT said: "Scammers are using ever more sophisticated and cunning tactics to dupe people out of their cash. We want people to recognise the warning signs, and feel confident enough to seek advice from friends and family or from Consumer Direct.'

Consumer minister Kevin Brennan said the government had invested £7.5 million to create 'scambuster' teams across the country.

"These specialist trading standards teams are working hard with the police and others across local authority boundaries to come down hard on the worst scammers. We are determined to take the fight to these crooks," he added.

The OFT said people should consider the following tips when being asked to part with their money:

Stop, think and be sceptical. If something sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Do not be rushed into sending off money to someone you do not know, however plausible they might sound and even where an approach is personalised.

Ask yourself how likely it is that you have been especially chosen for this offer - thousands of other people will probably have received the same offer.

Think about how much money you could lose from replying to a potential scam - it's not a gamble worth taking.

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