Today marks the launch of Scam Awareness Fortnight 2021. This is a national campaign led by Citizens Advice and Trading Standards to equip people to protect themselves, family and friends from scammers.
Most victims don’t report scams. But the impacts can be huge – people can:
• lose their life savings
• suffer emotional trauma or mental health problems
• lose their confidence
• suffer long-term health problems.
Common scams include:
• Emails scams. These messages contain links to genuine-looking websites that are designed to steal personal and financial information.
• Upfront payment/fee scams. They usually ask for an upfront payment to unlock either a cash prize, a PPI claim amount or for initiating a service.
• Doorstep selling. These all begin with the person getting an unrequested knock on their door. They are often for expensive home improvements which the victim did not want or was pressured into.
• Investment scams. Often conducted either online or over the phone, these can result in people losing thousands of pounds for non-existent stocks, shares and other investments such as rare wine or art. Average losses are very high.
• Antivirus/computer. People are cold called and told they have a problem with their computer which, for a fee, can be fixed. Alternatively the victim might initiate the contact in response to an online advert or prompt claiming that their device has been infected with a virus.
• Financial scams. These can include adverts offering fake “Get Rich Quick” schemes and phone calls, texts or emails pretending to be from your bank, asking you to move your money or provide personal details.
If you need advice on scams – how to spot, prevent or report them – please visit the Citizens Advice website: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/our-work/our-campaigns/all-our-current-campaigns/scams-awareness-campaign-2021/advice-on-scams/ .
If you want to know more about the campaign visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/sa21/ .
If you want to focus on local scams visit the city council’s Trading Standards page on scams at: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/30/business_compliance/412/scams_and_warnings/13
Finally, if you want to get involved personally, or in a business capacity, visit the Friends Against Scams site at: https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/ and see how you can actively contribute to beating the scammers.
Don’t let the scammers win – be scam aware!
