Fight back against scammers to stop them getting away with scams in Shropshire
Shropshire Council’s public protection team and Citizens Advice Shropshire are calling for people in the county to be on the lookout for any website, letter, doorstep seller or phone call with a proposal that sounds too good to be true – because it might very well be a scam.
With fewer than five per cent of people in the UK reporting scams to the authorities, Shropshire Council’s public protection team and Citizens Advice Shropshire have said that it is time to “fight back against scammers” to ensure they don’t get away with conning innocent people. People should report dubious adverts or sales pitches to the consumer advice helpline, and speak to a friend or relative first about any out of the blue offers.
The push is part of the national campaign Scams Awareness Month, which launches on Thursday 1 May 2014. Over the course of the month the campaign will highlight how people can be caught out through scams.
Jackie Jeffrey from Citizens Advice Shropshire said:
“Scammers can’t continue to get away with fleecing people of their hard-earned money. We want to see a fight back against scams.
“It is a disgrace that scammers often target elderly people with sophisticated scams such as posing as their bank or phone company. People regularly come to us with heartbreaking stories about fraudsters taking their money, and it’s important that people know what to look out for and what they can do.
“Anyone who is unsure about someone asking for their financial details should check with someone they trust, and report anything that sounds suspect to the consumer helpline.”
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for public protection, said:
“By telling us about a scam we can stop the scammers in their tracks and make sure no-one else falls foul of their tricks.
“This month we will be telling people about what to look out for, what kind of scams there are, and of the advice available if you think you might have been a victim.”
For more information contact:
Citizens Advice Shropshire -Jackie Jeffrey
dpm@shropshirecab.cabnet.org.uk, 01743 284178
Shropshire Council’s public protection team – Paulina Poplawska
paulina.poplawska@shropshire.gov.uk
Further information:
2013 Annual Fraud Indicator has put the loss to the UK economy from fraud at £52 billion. This level of loss impacts every part of society, including the most vulnerable.
- This year the Citizens Advice service celebrates its 75th anniversary.
- The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together it helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website or www.cabshropshire.org.uk
- The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
- To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at www.adviceguide.org.uk or www.cabshropshire.org.uk.
- You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 08454 04 05 06, or 08454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers.
- Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.1 million clients on 6.6 million problems from April 2012 to March 2013. For full 2012/2013 service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends.
- Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 22,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.
