Labour AM for the Vale of Clwyd, Ann Jones, has lent her support to a campaign raising awareness of the effect that illegal scams have on people, the community and the wider economy.
Ms Jones said: “The Office of Fair Trading estimate almost half of us (48%) are targeted by scams, costing individuals a total of £3.5 billion a year.
“Older people are particularly targeted by unscrupulous scams and often feel very alone and vulnerable after they have been ripped off.
“As people across Wales have less and less money to spend, scams can have an even more devastating impact on household finances. I am pleased to add my support to the campaign and urge people who have been targeted by campaigns to report it to the authorities”.
Throughout the whole of May, Citizens Advice Bureau and Trading Standards across England and Wales will be reminding people that scams come in all shapes and sizes including adverts, people knocking on your door, emails, letters, phone calls, texts and over the internet.
Ms Jones has pointed to two new, emerging scams which have become much more prevalent in tough economic times:-
Training and job ploys: paying for a phantom training course with the false promise of a job or working on a commission basis only to find the firm is a fake and they don’t make any money.
Dangerous debt help: offers of loans or help to clear debts which carries an upfront fee but they never get a loan or help to sort out their debts.
Ms Jones has also raised a statement of opinion at the Assembly calling on fellow AMs to back the campaign.
