Drop scams in our bins, say officers

By lbishop

Trading Standards is looking to crack down on fraudsters by holding a "scamnesty" throughout February.

This month, selected places in the district will be playing host to scamnesty bins in which residents can dump any scam mails they receive.

This will allow trading standards officers to gather vital evidence to be able to follow up and prosecute fraudsters who use mail, e-mail and the telephone to try to con people.

The types of scams that officers are looking to beat include fake lottery and prize win draws, investment cons and miracle health cures.

Peter Denard is a trading standards officer based in Bay Tree Avenue, Leatherhead, who says that some people have lost tens of thousands of pounds as a result of such scams.

"People are still falling for these schemes on the telephone, by e-mail or by mail and the scammers make it all seem so plausible.

"The key message is that if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

"We have got a case where someone ended up forking out £17,000 after being told she had won the Spanish lottery," he said.

He added: "Part of this is about raising awareness. We want to get it up in the local population's psyche that you have got to watch out for this.

"When you get a letter that is personalised it gives it a lot of credibility and that makes life very difficult for vulnerable people to differentiate between what is a scam and what isn't."

Dennis Wickham is the chairman of the Age Concern branch covering the Leatherhead area. He says keeping the elderly informed of potential scams in the area is a high priority.

"It is an evil activity, you are hitting at those people that don't really know and are somewhat gullible because of their age," he said.

Scamnesty boxes will be at Surrey Trading Standards' offices in Bay Tree Avenue, Leatherhead, at Dorking Library and in Mole Valley District Council's offices at Pippbrook until February 26.