Wirral backs national 'Scamnesty' drive

Wirral Council is supporting an Office of Fair Trading (OFT) campaign to get the public’s help in the fight against mail scams which cost the UK an estimated £3.5 billion per year.

The nationwide Scamnesty campaign was launched yesterday and Wirral is one of 50 local authority Trading Standards teams involved in helping support and promote the scheme.

Nine of the borough’s One Stop Shops have set up designated Scamnesty bins into which members of the public can collect and drop any potential scam mailings they have recently received.

The Wirral One Stop Shops that are participating in the scheme by making bins available are Bebington, Birkenhead, Eastham, Heswall, Moreton, New Brighton, Rock Ferry, Seacombe and West Kirby.

Every year an estimated three million people fall victim to mass marketed scams such as bogus lotteries, deceptive prize draws and sweepstakes, fake psychics, get-rich-quick schemes and miracle health cures.

Many of these scams are sent through the post, as well as by email or over the phone, and target the elderly and vulnerable.

However, OFT research suggests that less than 5% of victims report the scam to the authorities.

By posting scam mailings into the Scamnesty bins, Trading Standards and the OFT could gain crucial intelligence to help them in future investigations and prevent others from being scammed.
 
Councillor Gill Gardiner, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “The help of the public is really important to help beat scammers and this campaign will make it easier for people to share their information.

“Any scam mailings that are dropped in the bins could be vital in gathering intelligence on the latest scams and in stopping the worst offenders from continuing to bring misery to thousands of vulnerable people each year.”