Anyone can become the victim of a scam. However, many of the crimes are experienced by vulnerable people.
We want to help residents spot the signs of a potential scam so they can look out for their neighbours in the community and make East Cambridgeshire a safer place for all residents.
If you are an individual or organisation who is looking to brush up on their knowledge of scams and fraud, Friends Against Scams is a national Trading Standards scams team initiative.
Friends Against Scams supports residents by building on their scams knowledge and providing information about those who often fall victim to them. The initiative encourages communities and organisations to take the knowledge they have learnt and turn it into action.
Through Friends Against Scams, you can take part in a short online learning course in which you will receive a certificate and officially become a 'Friend against scams'. The course is free to take part in.
To complete the online training as a friend, visit Friends Against Scams - Online Learning
For information on how to get your organisation involved, visit Friends Against Scams - Businesses
Scams cost the UK economy between £5-£10 billion every year. Scammers are continuously changing the ways they trick their victims to steal their money, personal data or valuable belongings.
Being clued up on different types of scam and fraud allows you to take steps to protect yourself, personal information and others in your community
There are many forms of postal scam, but they usually involve an attempt to steal money or personal information. This could be financial data, passwords or pin numbers. Lottery or prize draw scams are very common and claim that the victim has won a large sum of money or a prize. In order to receive the prize, the victim is asked to send back their personal details, including banking details. These are then used to withdraw money.
Telephone scams can either be a call or an SMS text message whereby a criminal attempts to steal personal information or take money from you over the phone.
Examples of this include the scammer:
Online scams involve users being tricked into clicking on a link or attachment within an email or pop up that is harmful to their device.
This can be done by the scammer impersonating organisations, such as your bank or companies that handle online transactions, like PayPal. The email appears legitimate to the untrained eye, meaning criminals find it very easy to trick people and steal their information.
You can avoid online scams by never clicking on something suspicious or unexpected. Also check the email address the message was sent from – the information after the @ symbol should be similar to the company’s website address.
Fraudulent or bogus traders will knock on the doors of vulnerable people to pose as legitimate traders selling unnecessary goods or services. As this scam is face-to-face, the victim often feels under pressure to pay for the service or goods to avoid confrontation.
Distraction burglary is another method criminals use as a doorstep scam. It usually consists of two people, one distracts you, while the other enters your home and steals goods. Legitimate traders will have a form of ID on them and you can ask to see this before opening the door.