Scams involving fake services to block nuisance calls prolific in UK
|
Version 0 of 1. Fraudsters claiming to offer people the ability to block nuisance phone calls in exchange for a small fee are among the most prolific scams facing UK consumers, according to frontline trading standards teams. National Trading Standards (NTS) said it was aware of a growing number of scammers making cold calls claiming to be from the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and attempting to extract money for registration or for useless call blocking devices. Louise Baxter, from the NTS scams team, said: “This is a sad and cynical scam that targets people who are actively trying to protect themselves or vulnerable relatives. Please remember that the TPS never cold calls and its service is always free.” The use of subscription traps is also on the rise, mainly because of the increase in social media advertising and email offers, according to the NTS annual report. Consumers are enticed to sign up to a free trial or offer but then trapped into costly monthly payments which can be difficult to stop. The NTS also warned that energy scams, such as those fraudulently selling solar panels, were likely to increase as government funding for the Green Deal comes to an end – similarly, investment scams are likely to increase following changes to pensions that came into effect earlier this year. Other areas of concern for the NTS are an increase in fraudulent deals or faulty and fake products sold via social media sites, loan sharks targeting those vulnerable to financial problems as they get to grips with universal credit and the cap on payday loans, and unauthorised sellers of fake or duplicate tickets. The report says NTS teams prevented £252m worth of loss to consumers and businesses in the last year, prevented more than 2.5m unsafe or non-compliant goods from entering the supply chain through borders, and convicted 100 criminals who are now serving a total of 118 years in prison. However, victims of mail scams lost more than £13m and 200,000 people now appear on “suckers lists”. NTS chair, Lord Toby Harris, said: “We face a growing threat from criminals that set out to target consumers – including some of the most vulnerable people in society – and honest businesses. “And it’s not just money they take from innocent people. Many victims feel they have lost their dignity, their self-confidence, their sense of security. For small businesses, entire livelihoods may be lost and this, in turn, damages the economy. “I am hopeful that in publishing this report, more people will be inspired to take steps to protect themselves and vulnerable loved ones,” he added. “I’d also remind people to report anything suspicious to the Citizen’s Advice consumer helpline on 03454 040506.” |