Con men keep ‘suckers lists’ of 200,000 likely victims

ALMOST 200,000 people appear on 13 different “suckers lists” that have been seized by fraud investigators after they were used by con artists to bombard the elderly with junk mail.

Trading Standards said those listed were being sent mailshots inviting them to take part in fake prize draws, competitions and special offers.

Most of the victims were elderly, with an average age of 74, and many were vulnerable and lived alone.

Typically, those identified had responded to marketing mailings before, the organisation said, and may have found the scams difficult to spot.

So far, 10,843 people on the database are known to have handed over money on false premises. On average, they have lost £1,184 each, and nearly £13 million in total. Some were sending money to cover the costs of claiming a prize for a competition they had not entered.

Trading Standards said the “suckers lists” were found during raids on companies that were suspected of breaking the law.

They are believed to have been created from larger sets of data obtained by fraudsters from legitimate marketing companies.

Typically, the criminals contact every person on the database via speculative letters. Anyone who responds is placed on a narrower list, which can then be sold to other fraudulent organisa- tions. The 13 “suckers lists” were discovered by the National Trading Standards Scams Team, which was set up in 2012 to help “silent victims”, particularly those vulnerable to postal fraud.

Lord Harris of Haringey, chairman of the organisation, said that in three years the team had saved vulnerable people £2.7 million by seizing cheques and cash in raids. A further £2.3 million has been stopped before victims had parted with their money.

“We know our work is not done. Criminal scammers

‘Scammers are targeting some of the most vulnerable people in society, ripping them off for thousands of pounds’

are targeting some of the most vulnerable people in society, ripping them off in many cases for thousands of pounds,” Lord Harris said.

“We are going to continue in our fight to protect consumers and we urge the public to help us by reporting suspected cases of postal fraud to the Royal Mail.”

Louise Baxter, of the Trading Standards Scams Team, said: “We really need the public to help us with this by being vigilant about mass marketing scams themselves, but also looking out for relatives or neighbours, particularly those who are elderly or vulnerable. The impact on individuals and consumers is devastating.”