'Scamnesty' Launch As New Figures Reveal Top Scams

The OFT has today launched its 2009 Scams Awareness Month to raise awareness of mass marketed scams, which cost the UK public £3.5billion a year.

Every year an estimated three million UK consumers fall victim to scams sent by post, email, text, the phone and internet, the Office of Fair Trading said.

This year's Awareness Month in February kicks off with a nationwide 'Scamnesty', run in partnership with nearly 90 Local Authority Trading Standards Services, which 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.

The information collected will help the OFT and enforcement partners to identify and develop strategies to combat the worst scammers. A similar campaign was a great success last year, collecting more than 15,000 mailings.

TV personality Angela Rippon is in Westminster today to back the OFT campaign and stars in a new DVD, also being launched today, highlighting common scams and showing how to protect vulnerable groups in society including the elderly from scammers. Elderly scams victims are likely to lose nearly twice as much as others.

Such victims are often socially isolated, over-trusting or in declining mental health and repeatedly targeted by scammers.

The campaign launch is accompanied by the release of new figures from Consumer Direct, the national advice centre operated by the OFT, that reveal the most complained-about scams. These were compiled from more than 7,000 reports in the last year through its dedicated scams reporting website.

The top five reported scams are:

• Deceptive Prize draws/ sweepstakes
• Bogus foreign lotteries
• Advance fee fraud
• Homeworking/ business opportunity scams
• Property/ land investment scams

Commenting about the Scams Awareness Campaign Angela Rippon said: "Scammers use psychological techniques to gain vulnerable people's trust. They exploit fear and insecurity to steal as much money as they can from those who can least afford it. Though anyone can fall victim to a scam it is always the oldest that are hit the hardest."

John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive, also said: "Scammers are sophisticated at targeting people who are often the most vulnerable in society. As we enter tougher economic times it is more important than ever for people to be alert to prevent themselves, or friends, families and neighbours from falling victim to these heartless money-making schemes."

(JM/BMcC)