Campaign reveals money transfer scams top list of consumer cons

Advance fee frauds and money transfer scams topped the list of consumer cons last year according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

As the Government agency launched its 2011 Scams Awareness Month and annual Scamnesty campaign today, it said that nearly four in 10 people surveyed said they had been a victim of one of these types of scams.

This fraud has now overtaken lottery and ticketing scams. Typically these increasingly sophisticated crimes dupe people into handing over their bank details or paying an up-front fee for example by leading the victim to believe they are entitled to an inheritance or donating to charity.

Even what should by now be relatively well-known fraud, the 419 scam, so called after a Nigerian criminal law, is continuing to con people as it evolves.

Michele Shambrook, operations manager for the OFT-managed advice service Consumer Direct, said: "Scammers are using ever more sophisticated and cunning tactics to dupe people out of their cash."

The latest OFT research of 1,000 people carried out last month, reveals the scale of the problem with mass-marketed scams in Britain, which arrive by post, email, text, phone or the internet.

It found that nearly one in 20 who responded to the survey has been a victim of one of these frauds; and of those seven per cent had lost more than £4,000.

The OFT's Scamnesty campaign is also being run in partnership with 86 local authority Trading Standards Services (TSS). The campaign calls on consumers to drop scam mailings they have received into designated ‘Scamnesty' bins or boxes at local libraries and public areas across the country.

Esther Rantzen, who is helping the OFT raise awareness of the issues, said: "Scams can have a devastating impact on people's lives.

"The conmen often deliberately target older people or people who are especially vulnerable. Stigma or embarrassment can wrongly make victims think they are to blame, and discourage them from reporting these crimes or seeking help.

"No-one should feel like this. I want people to feel able to speak to their friends, family and neighbours so that we can put these con-artists out of business.

Consumers can see if their TSS is participating at the Consumer Direct Scamnesty web page.