Five million Britons are scam victims

Posted on 6 Jan 2006 at 10:38

Up to 5m people in Britain may have fallen victim to fraudsters. Meanwhile a staggering 28m Britons may have been targeted by the scamsters - almost half the population of the United Kingdom.

The claim is made by a new report by the consumer watchdog Which? The survey indicates that increasingly the fraudsters are turning to high technology to find their victims. Taking a cue from the spammers, the con artists now work on the premise that if you try enough people the small proportion of those that do respond will prove profitable to fund the whole operation.

A typical scam, and one encountered by many people, is randomly dialled phone calls which trigger an automatic message. Usually they will claim to offer a prize if you call a particular number. The number of course turns out to be a premium line charging £1.50 a minute which tries to keep you hanging on for as long as possible.

The survey also estimates that almost 8m people in Britain have seen or received material promoting international lotteries.

Variations on the 'prize' scam are one where the con men charge a 'contingency' fee before the victim can claim their 'winnings'. Which? also reports that one reader was asked to pay thousands of pounds to 'release' her winnings. In an echo of the notorious '419' technique used by email fraudsters, they may also fraudulently use any bank account details they obtain from 'winners' trying to claim prizes.

Another scam and one often seen on Internet job sites are offers to 'make thousands' working from home. Which? says that while not all these ads are scams, the watchdog found that it can be hard to pin down the exact job description and naturally money is almost always requested up front for a joining pack.

Which? Editor Malcolm Coles commented, 'The con artists who run these scams are experts in fooling people into parting with their money. Unfortunately, it's rare to get something for nothing - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

'Avoid giving them the information they need by checking thoroughly before confirming email addresses or giving bank account details to anybody you don't know.'

Author: Steve Malone