02/02/2010

Drop in and drop them in it

Gerry is supporting a nationwide ‘Scamnesty' campaign by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and local authority Trading Standards Services, which aims to help end the scourge of mass marketed scam mailings in the UK. The campaign is coming to Bradford this February. Nearly half of the UK adult population has been targeted by a scam. Every year, 3.2 million adults - one in 15 people - across the country fall victim to a scam involving deceptive unsolicited mailings, phone calls, or emails, which are designed to con victims out of their cash. UK consumers lose around a staggering £3.5 billion to scams every year.

Gerry is calling on the people of Bradford to fight back against the fraudsters by collecting any scam mailings they receive and dropping them into designated ‘Scamnesty' bins located at (insert location of bins). Over the previous two years, residents in nearly 100 local authorities dropped over 20,000 scam mailings in Scamnesty bins across the country. The campaign revealed that the top five mass marketed scam mailings in the UK at that time were: 1) deceptive sweepstakes; 2) misleading prize draws; 3) fake clairvoyants/psychics; 4) bogus foreign lotteries; and 5) ‘miracle' health cures.

Gerry, said:

"Every day, people are at risk from unscrupulous fraudsters who want to con them out of their cash. By dropping your scam mailing into your local Scamnesty bin, you will help reduce scams bringing misery to millions of people every year."

To find your nearest Scamnesty bin you can contact West Yorkshire Trading Standards on 0113 253 0241.

If you think you have been the victim of a scam, or you suspect a scam, visit Consumer Direct for clear and practical advice at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty

During Scamnesty month (February 2010), they can also report online scams to the ‘virtual bin' on the Consumer Direct website. www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty