Don’t miss a trick - Scams Awareness Month, June 2018

Posted 01/06/18

Spam emails, ‘suspicious activity’ alerts from your bank, news stories about data breaches; unfortunately scams and fraud seem to have become part of our daily lives. Last year, Citizens Advice found that almost three quarters of people surveyed had been targeted by a scam in the previous two years (2015-17).

Scams Awareness Month is an annual opportunity to raise awareness and take a stand against the crimes and predatory practices which affect millions of people. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has teamed up with Citizens Advice and the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP) to ensure trading standards services can raise awareness of scams across the country.

This year’s campaign, ‘Don’t miss a trick, be scam aware’, will continue to focus on those frequently targeted for scams. Working with trading standards, Citizens Advice have identified four groups most likely to be targeted by scams: young people (18-24), life established (40s-60s), over 70s and the socially isolated. Each week of the campaign will focus on one of these four key groups. You can find more information on these groups here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/sam18/

Scams can leave lasting financial and psychological distress on the victims, and often come with a stigma which leaves victims embarrassed and unwilling to report the crime. It’s estimated only 5-15% of scams are reported.

The Chief Executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, Leon Livermore, said: "It’s worrying that scams victims still feel reluctant to come forward and report a crime. Nobody should suffer in silence. It is therefore reassuring and heartening to know that devoted trading standards and consumer protection champions around the country are tirelessly working in the background in spite of resource cuts, to help raise awareness and drive down criminal behaviour.”

Know of a scam, or have been scammed, don’t miss a trick. Call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.

---