The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is launching its 2011 Scams Awareness Month by highlighting how scammers are targeting unsuspecting people using increasingly sophisticated and manipulative tactics.
This year’s Scams Awareness Month is seeking to raise awareness of the scale of the problem with a nationwide ‘Scamnesty’ run in partnership with local authority Trading Standards Services. Flintshire County Council Trading Standards Department is taking part in the Scamnesty campaign. The department is distributing Scamnesty posters and leaflet bins in the following libraries:
- Broughton
- Garden City
- Hawarden
- Holywell
- Mynydd Isa
- Queensferry
- Saltney
- Connah’s Quay
- Flint
- Buckley
- Mold
‘Scamnesty’ is an annual awareness campaign run by the (OFT) for the month of February. It aims to increase consumer awareness of mass market scams and provides consumers with helpful and practical advice on how to avoid being scammed.
The campaign calls on consumers to drop scam mailings they have received into designated ‘Scamnesty’ bins placed in the local libraries. The Scamnesty campaign will run from 1 February to 28 February 2011. Flintshire Trading Standards are encouraging people in the local community to post all their scam mail into the scamnesty bins provided.
At the end of the campaign officers will collect the bins and inspect the scam mail and investigate, where possible, scams which are taking place locally, observe any trends and provide advice where required. All of the scam mail will then be disposed of confidentially.
The people behind the scams are using ever more sophisticated and cunning tactics to trick people out of their savings. We want people to recognise the warning signs, and feel confident enough to seek advice from friends and family or from Consumer Direct and Trading Standards.
To help protect yourself and those you care about remember the following tips:
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.
Think first did you enter the ‘competition’ you appear to have won? If the answer is no, then the letter is likely to be scam mail.
Think did you enter the Spanish, Australian or International lottery, if you didn’t, then it’s unlikely you have won thousands or millions of pounds.
If it’s a genuine ‘competition’ you shouldn’t have to send money to obtain the ‘prize’
