1st February 2010
Over 4m adults in Britain have fallen victim to scams, according
to the Office of Fair Trading.
Almost half of scam victims lost more than £50, while 5% lost
more than £5000.
The OFT - which revealed nearly three quarters of adults had
received a scam-email in the past year - is launching a
"scamnesty", calling on consumers to drop scam mailings into
designated boxes at public places or into an online "bin".
OFT chief executive John Fingleton 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 or family or from
Consumer Direct."
Consumer Minister Kevin Brennan said the government had spent
£7.5m to create "scambuster" teams across the UK.
"We are determined to fight these crooks," he said.
It is estimated that the overall cost of scams, online theft,
insurance cheats and tax fraud hits £30bn a year in the UK, the
equivalent of £621 per adult.
The OFT is giving the following advice to help avoid being
scammed:
- Stop, think and be sceptical. If something sounds too good to
be true, it probably is
- Don't rush to send off money to someone you don't know, however
plausible they might sound
- Ask yourself how likely it is that you've 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
- Seek advice
Useful links:
How to
spot online scams
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