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News

Wise Up To Scam Mail

A recent initiative by Environmental & Consumer Protection Services (E&CPS) has revealed that Poole residents are at risk of being conned out of thousands of pounds through scam mail sent from all over the world.

Last month the Council asked residents to post any suspicious scam mail such as fake lotteries and promotions in special recycling bins in libraries and at the Civic Centre for two weeks to establish the extent and nature of the mail sent to Poole households.  Officers are still examining the mail but the initial results were startling.

Over 60 different schemes asking Poole residents to send in money to take part had been received from all over the globe with mail from 13 different countries and from as far away as Australia, Canada and South Africa. Up to £94m in prizes was up for grabs resulting in a potential loss of thousands of pounds had people pursued the offers.

Nationally it's believed that consumers lose over £1 billion per year by responding to mass marketing scams such as fake lotteries or draws, premium-rate prize promotions, psychic mailings guaranteeing an improvement  in your luck and miracle health cures which promise the earth but mislead the public.

Shaun Robson, Head of E&CPS said: "It seems there are new scams being sent out to the public every day. Most of these originate abroad and are therefore very difficult for us to tackle effectively but we want to make sure we do what we can to catch the scammers in this country and warn the public on how to protect themselves".

Councillor Don Collier, Portfolio Holder for the Environment said: "Many of these scams only ask for £10 or £20 and victims are tempted because it seems like a good deal for little outlay. When they are sent to 100,000's of people though this can soon add up to a very healthy profit. Often they are targeted at the elderly but these fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated and aim to con us all if we're not scamwise. The simple rule is that if it's too good to be true - it probably is. You should bin it or even better, recycle it!

Shaun Robson, Head of Service, Environmental & Consumer Protection, Borough of Poole tel: 01202 631700