Warning over mass marketing scams


Millions of Britons are being targeted by organized criminal gangs using the latest mass marketing techniques to defraud them of an estimated £3.5 billion a year.


Police and campaigners have urged victims of scams not to stay silent but to report their experiences as part of an international day of action aimed at raising awareness of fraud.


Scams are becoming more sophisticated and seem more plausible as criminals attempt to keep one step ahead of publicity and law enforcers, according to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), one of a number of organisations supporting the day of action.


They have warned that victims not only pay a high personal and financial price for fraud - but that the scams are often used to fund other crimes such as drug dealing and people trafficking.


Many people are now aware of the so-called Nigerian "419" scam letter or email, where fraudsters attempt to lure people into paying money up front in the hope of realising a much larger sum later, it said.


But Soca warned this scam is only the "tip of the iceberg" of a range of other frauds, including "boiler room" scams where worthless shares are sold at inflated prices to investors, fake lotteries, counterfeit cheque frauds, Ponzi schemes and fraudsters exploiting online seekers of romance.


Some fraudsters have even pretended to come from organisations tackling fraud - including Soca - offering to give previous victims "professional" help in recovering their money - in scams known as "fraud recovery" fraud.


Colin Woodcock, a fraud expert with Soca, said: "To anyone who thinks this sort of thing can't touch them we'd say complacency is a big risk.


"Many of us look at the sort of frauds that affect other people and feel confident we would never fall for them.


"But serious organised criminals are endlessly inventive and the UK is worth £3.5 billion to them every year through mass market fraud - they don't want to give that up. 
Once people get wise to one scam, the criminals will switch to something else."


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