Residents are being reminded that there is still time to get rid of any scam mailings that come through the door, by dropping them into special ‘Scamnesty’ bins located throughout the borough this month.
The nationwide ‘Scamnesty’ campaign, is being run by Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) throughout February, and aims to increase awareness and understanding of scams, by encouraging people to drop their scam mailings into special ‘Scamnesty’ bins.
Cllr Lyn Ackerman said, “We are fully behind this excellent month-long campaign to raise awareness of scams and scam mailings. I would encourage anyone who is receiving mailings of this nature to come along and dispose of them in one of the ‘scamnesty’ bins located throughout the borough.”
Mass marketed scams are a problem in the UK. They can take the form of bogus and fraudulent offers sent by post, telephone or email. Fake lottery and prize draw wins, bogus psychic predications, get-rich-quick investment cons and ‘miracle’ health cures are just some of the tricks used by scammers.
More than three million adults – one in 15 people – fall victim to scams, losing a total of £3.5 billion every year. Although anyone can fall for a scam, the elderly and vulnerable are often more likely to be targeted.
The Scamnesty bins will provide valuable new intelligence to the Office of Fair Trading and Trading Standards and help inform future investigations that will help prevent others from being scammed.
Secure ‘Scamnesty’ bins can be found in the following locations throughout February:
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s main council buildings: Penallta House, Tredomen House, Pontllanfraith House, Hawtin Park
Caerphilly, Blackwood, Bargoed, Risca and Rhymney libraries
Customer First Centres (except Blackwood)
CCBC Cash Offices
You can also report a scam by contacting Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 or visiting the Scamnesty website.
For further information, you can also order a copy of the Office of Fair Trading’s free leaflet ‘Scambuster’ by calling 0800 389 3158, quoting the reference OFT 831PR.
