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Residents are being urged by Northumberland Trading Standards to fight back against the fraudsters in February by taking part in a major campaign run by the Office of Fair Trading.
The Scamnesty 2010 campaign runs from the 1st - 26th February and asks residents to help crack down on scammers by dropping mail scams into designated Scamnesty boxes which will be placed across Northumberland. Online scams can also be reported via the virtual Scamnesty bin at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty.
In Northumberland, Trading Standards receive hundreds of reports each year about scams where households and businesses have been targeted by deceptive mail, phone and email scams. These include fake lottery and prize draw wins, bogus psychic predictions, investment cons and miracle health cures.
The content of the Scamnesty boxes will provide vital intelligence for the Office of Fair Trading and Northumberland Trading Standards Service and will help inform future investigations to prevent others being scammed. Every single mailing or email will be recorded and analysed and will enable trends to be identified in different areas.
The boxes are located throughout Northumberland including most libraries and Information Centres. To find your nearest box, please contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 or visit www.consumerdirect.gov.uk.
Alan Kirsop, Trading Standards Manager for Council said: “Every year Northumberland residents are targeted by scams, and it is often those who are most vulnerable who are deceived by them. By dropping a scam into one of the Scamnesty boxes this February, residents will help provide us with information to support efforts to stop scams conning those most susceptible to them.
Councillor Ian Lindley, Executive Member for Community Safety said: “Nearly half of the adult population has been targeted by a scam of some sort and this is a fantastic way for us to identify those which are operating in our County and affecting our residents.”
“I would urge people to make the effort this month to report email scams online or to have a close look at your post and drop any letters which look like they could be scams into the boxes provided. We will be looking at every scam individually so please don’t assume that other people will have received the same thing and notified us!”
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