Don’t send money to a stranger!

NEVER send money to someone you have never met – that’s the warning today from Warrington Trading Standards as part of “Scams Awareness Month”.
Trading Standards officers are backing the campaign, run by the Charter Trading Standards Institute and the Citizens Advice Bureaux, which encourages residents to report suspicious activities, get advice if they think they’ve been conned and to warn others to help stop scams from spreading.
Officers dealt with more than 400 reported scams last year but research shows that less than 5 per cent of victims report scams and on average each victim loses £4,650.   Consequently it is likely that the cost of scams to the vulnerable each year runs into the tens of millions.
During the next four weeks, officers are calling on local residents to expose scams and help stop more people from falling prey to clever cons that fleece them out of thousands of pounds.
They are also highlighting how scams continue to flourish when people stay silent and how the latest scams can be avoided.
Scams come in every form, from doorstep sellers to online investment offers and ‘free’ prize draws. People may be targeted with “vishing” calls where a fraudster impersonates their bank to collect their bank details, or by bogus companies offering computer services. Online scams include fake job adverts and offers for goods and services, while mail scams may ask victims to pay a fee in order to claim their winnings
from a prize draw they haven’t entered.
Trading Standards is asking people to keep two things in mind when they receive an unsolicited approach or when they are looking for goods or services: don’t be rushed and don’t be hushed.
People should take their time to make a decision and get their facts together before parting with their money or personal information, and speak out when they think they’ve spotted a scam.
Cllr Judith Guthrie, the borough council’s lead member for environment and public protection said: “Scams thrive on silence. Fraudsters know that victims are often too ashamed to share what happened to them, meaning that scams can continue to spread unchecked. We’re urging people to lift the lid on scams and start talking about suspicious email, junk mail, online ads or door-to-door sellers operating in their area”.
Peter Astley, assistant director for regulation and public protection, said: “Scams are run by professional con artists and it can be very hard to know what to look out for.
“Our advice is that if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you’re contacted out of the blue be on your guard, and never give your bank details out unless you are certain you know who the person is, and that you can trust them.
“If you think you have been scammed, contact Citizens Advice for help and report it to Trading Standards on 03454 04 05 06.”