County Council urges people to stand up and beat the
scammers that cost Worcestershire £30million a year during
Scamnesty 2010
Worcestershire County Council is urging Wyre
Forest residents to take part in Scamnesty 2010 next month
(February) and fight back against fraudsters that cost people in
the county an estimated £30million each year by dumping scam mail
into designated drop boxes at local hubs.
The county's Trading Standards service is
supporting the national campaign, set up by the Office of Fair
Trading, which aims to use people power in the battle against the
mass marketed scam mailings.
Special Scamnesty boxes are being placed at
venues around the county, including the Wyre Forest Customer
Service Centre, so scam mail can be dropped off.
The Scamnesty drop boxes will provide valuable
new intelligence to the OFT and local authority Trading Standards
Services to help inform future investigations, which will prevent
others from being conned.
Last year's campaign revealed that the
top five mass-marketed scam mailings were:
- Deceptive sweepstakes
- Misleading prize draws
- Fake/clairvoyants/psychics
- Bogus foreign lotteries
- 'Miracle' health cures
Cllr Derek Prodger MBE, The
County Council's Cabinet Member for Transport and Safe Environment,
said: "Scamnesty 2010 is expected to reveal a marked
increased in scale and range of mass marketed scam mailings in the
UK.
"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 box in Wyre
Forest, you will help provide crucial intelligence to support us in
stopping scams bringing misery to millions of people every
year."
Anyone that thinks they have been a victim of
a scam, or suspect a scam, should call Consumer Direct for clear,
practical advice on 08454 04 05 06 or visit www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/scamnesty.
A host of consumer information is also
available on the updated Trading Standards webpages at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/tradingstandards.
Cllr Derek Prodger MBE, The County Council's
Cabinet Member for Transport and Safe Environment, joins the
Trading Standards Watchdog to drop off mail for Scamnesty 2010.