Scams and how to stay safe

Anyone can become a victim of a scam.  Scams come in many forms and in recent internet scams have been very high.  Have you ever received an email asking for payment or personal detiails for no reason?  if yes this could have been a scam.

Everyone can stay safe and take a stand again scams.  Follow your instinct if it does not seem right there is a chance it is not right.  Think along the lines of "is this too good to be true".  There are some genuine too good to be true moments but we all need to mindful that scams can and do happen to people on a daily basis.

An initiative was set up by National Trading Standards called Friends Against Scams.
Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative.  This scheme aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering people to take a stand against scams.

Friends Against Scams is designed to inspire action, highlight the scale of the problem, change the perceptions of why people fall for scams and make scams a community, regional and national topic.

• Scams cost the UK economy £5-£10 Billion a year
• 53% of people over 65 have been targeted by scams
• Only 5% of scams are reported
• Our statistics indicate that the average scam victim has lost over £3000

For more information on scams please see the below website.