Across the capital London Trading Standards authorities are supporting Scams Awareness 2019 which takes place for two weeks from 10th to 23rd June.
The annual campaign aims to create a network of confident, alert consumers who know what to do when they see a scam.
Citizens Advice runs Scams Awareness Month in close collaboration with the Consumer Protection Partnership. This brings together key partners in the consumer landscape to identify, prioritise and coordinate collective action to tackle detriment. Partners include Trading Standards services and BEIS (the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy).
Citizens Advice are appealing for help to spread the message that scams are crimes that can happen to anyone and we don’t need to be embarrassed if we fall victim to them.
The campaign will focus on two different groups:
- Older people. They have a high level of detriment and are often targeted multiple times
- The ‘life established’ (45-60s). They’re impacted by a range of scams and make up the largest group targeted
Advice for consumers
- Check if something might be a scam
- Reporting a scam
- Check if you can get your money back after a scam
- What to do if you’ve been scammed
Stephen Knight – Operations Director for London Trading Standards said: “Every 15 seconds, someone in the UK gets scammed. London Trading Standards supports the aim of the campaign which is to make sure people “stop, report, talk” if they think they’re being targeted by a scam, and know what they can do about them”.
