Beech Neighbourhood Watch

Scams awareness

February 2010 was Scams Awareness Month. This is a national campaign to raise awareness of scams. It is run by the Office of Fair Trading and supported locally by Hampshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service.

Examples of scams include fake lotteries where the victim is told that they have won vast sums but have to pay a small amount to release the winnings. If they respond to this, they are then asked for increasing sums and the victim is drawn in and can lose vast amounts of money. In one case we have dealt with, the victim has paid out over £100,000 and is now at risk of losing her home. The website www.thinkjessica.com gives real examples of the way scams can devastate lives. A major problem can be convincing the victim that it is a scam and persuading them to stop sending money.

In most cases the scams come from outside the EU where Trading Standards have no jurisdiction and are therefore powerless to stop them at source. They are therefore raising awareness to stop people falling for them.

Photos show the scams received by one Hampshire resident.

The message is:-

  • Beware of all unsolicited mail – If it looks too good to be true it probably is. In particular genuine competitions will never ask you to pay to obtain a prize you are said to have won.
  • Throw any scam mailings away in the recycling bin.
  • Anyone responding to a scam mailing risks going on a so-called “suckers list” and be deluged with mail.
  • If you know of a vulnerable person who receives excessive unsolicited mail it could be because they are a victim. It is worth talking to them about it or flagging up with carers.
  • If you are the victim of a scam call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06

Local events: Stands in supermarkets

  • ASDA, Maynard Road, Totton. SO40 32A – Friday 5th February
  • ASDA, Anton Mill Road, Andover. SP10 2RW – Wednesday 10th February
  • ASDA Supercentre, Bournemouth Road, Chandlers Ford. SO5 3YJ – Thursday 11th February
  • ASDA Supercentre, Larchwood Avenue, Bedhampton. PO9 3QW – Wednesday 17th February
  • ASDA, Brighton Way, Brighton Hill, Basingstoke. RG22 4DH – Friday 19th February
  • ASDA, Speedfields Park, Newgate Lane, Fareham. PO14 1TT – Wednesday 24th February

Alert!

This information has been confirmed by Royal Mail. The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam:

  • A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number).
  • DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize . If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.
  • If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655 or ICSTIS (the Premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk