Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Trading Standards service is calling on residents in Dumfries and Galloway to expose scams and help prevent more people from succumbing to clever cons that fleece them of thousands of pounds.
Scams Awareness Month launched on 1 July and will be highlighting how scams continue to flourish when people stay silent. Figures show that less than 5% of victims report scams to authorities. Our Trading Standards service is encouraging residents to report suspicious activities, get advice if they think they’ve been conned, and to warn others to help stop scams from spreading.
Scams come in every form, from doorstep double glazing sales to online investment offers. People may be targeted with “fishing” calls where a fraudster impersonates their bank to collect their bank details, or by bogus companies offering computer services. Online scams include dodgy job adverts and offers for goods and services, while mail scams may ask victims to pay a fee in order to claim their winnings from a prize draw they haven’t entered.
Our Scams Awareness Month campaign is asking people to keep two things in mind when they receive an unsolicited approach or when they are looking for goods or services:
Don’t be rushed and Don’t be hushed.
People should take their time to make a decision and get their facts together before parting with their money or personal information, and speak out when they think they’ve spotted a scam.
Colin Smyth, Chair of the Council’s Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee said:
“Our Council places a huge emphasis on protecting our most vulnerable people in the region. Scams thrive on silence. Fraudsters know that victims are often too ashamed to share what happened to them, meaning that scams can continue to spread. We’re urging people to lift the lid on scams and start talking about suspicious email, junk mail, online ads or door-to-door sellers operating in their area.
Scams are run by professional con artists and it can be very hard to know what to look out for. Our advice is that if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you’re contacted out of the blue be on your guard. If you think you have been scammed, contact Citizens Advice for help and report it to Trading Standards.”
Scams Awareness Month runs throughout July.
