Trading watchdogs appeal for scam mail

Households in Sunderland are being urged to forward examples of scam mail to trading standards watchdogs free of charge.

National Trading Standards hope the new initiative will help gather intelligence about cons such as fake lottery draws and competitions, clairvoyance scams, unclaimed inheritance f raud s a n d c ata - logues with items which are overp r ic e d o r n eve r turn up.

The scams often promise the recipient big payouts or ask for a fee for more information and may involve the recipient needing to answer a competition question, to hook them in.

Seals, crests, fonts, signatures and "identification numbers" may be used in artwork to give the impression the mail is from a legitimate organisation.

Postal scams are estimated to cost between £5m to £10m to consumers’ detriment every year.

Louise Baxter, head of the National Trading Standards scams team, said: "It's not just vulnerable people who fall prey to scam mail.

"The criminals take great care to ensure their mailings look genuine.

"Many of us have felt anxious and lonely during the pandemic, and fraudsters will not hesitate to prey on our emotions by sending us fake stories of hope. "Consumersneedto be extra vigilant.

"If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

"Send us the scam mail and help us prevent more people being conned."

Scam mail should be addressed to: "NTSST, FREEPOST, MAIL MARSHALS".

More information about how to prevent scams is available at https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/index