Emails that promise large tax refunds, letters telling of big lottery wins and offers from fake ticketing websites are just some of the scams being targeted by South Ayrshire Council this month as part of its 'Scamnesty' campaign.
The Council's campaign – in conjunction with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) aims to raise awareness of the many mass marketing scams in circulation throughout the country, which result in citizens losing an estimated £3.5 billion per year.
The OFT estimates more than three million people in the UK fall victim to scams every year, inadvertently handing over their cash or personal financial details to con artists and tricksters.
The most popular scams include bogus sweepstakes and lotteries, tax rebates, demands for payment of phone bills and fake ticketing websites. They come in many forms including letters, phone and emails – some of which have even found their way to the Council's own trading standards team.
With more and more people conducting their financial business over the internet, scammers are also targeting consumers online, pretending to be anything from a concert promoter to a phone company or even a government agency.
One recent scam centred on an email claiming to be from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and asking recipients to provide bank details so an overpayment of tax could be repaid.
Another common scam is to offer tickets to major concerts and festivals, which people are often desperate to attend. Customers often think they've found a bargain when the opposite is true.
To help tackle the problem, South Ayrshire Council is giving local residents and workers the chance to bin any scam mailings or emails they receive in a special 'Scamnesty' bin at the trading standards office in River Place, Ayr.
The bin is easily identified by the sign 'Scams are clever. Prove you are too. Bin them!'.
Councillor Peter Convery, South Ayrshire Council's Portfolio Holder for trading standards issues, said: "It's an old saying, but if something seems too good to be true – it probably is. The biggest challenge these scammers present is that they can appear very plausible so it's important to be particularly vigilant when handing over cash or bank details.
"We know our residents are at risk from these scams and elderly and vulnerable people in our area have lost considerable sums of money – some up to £15,000. And sadly, once someone's details have been picked up through a scam, they are often sold on to other scammers.
"We all have a duty to look out for these scams to help reduce the risk of someone being caught out so join our Scamnesty and ensure these fraudulent offers are put firmly where they belong – in the bin."
The Scamnesty bin can be found at South Ayrshire Council's Trading Standards Advice and Intervention Centre at 5-7 River Terrace, Ayr.