Scams Awareness Month: Don't be a Mug Like Me

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by: MarkeD
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Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 Time: 4:10 AM
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Hello wannabe money savers! I have a question to ask - have you been scammed over the past fortnight? If not, it could be thanks to those nice people over at the Office of Fair Trading who have designated February Scams Awareness Month.

OK, to be honest I do feel a bit scammed by OFT for only providing me with scam awareness cover for the shortest month of the year rather than for a proper 30/31 day month. I mean, what if I get scammed in the first two or three days of next month? I'll feel mighty aggrieved, that's for sure. That said, OFT's heart is in the right place.

Anyway, it seems that each year, around three million of us are taken in by post, email, text, phone and internet fraudsters to the tune of some £3.5 billion. Unfortunately, OFT found that the most vulnerable are the elderly, who repeatedly fall victim to such cons as bogus lotteries, deceptive prize draws, psychics and miracle cures.

OFT also pointed out that anyone can fall for a scam - and don't I know it, for muggings here is also a victim.

The Mustn't Win Club

Back when I worked in the City, I'd occasionally grab one of the free recruitment magazines they'd hand out at tube stations. Once at the office, instead of working I'd flick through the pages, have a short nap, and then continue my read. Most of the jobs were out of my reach, insisting, as so many do, on a minimum of one GCSE, however, there was always an intriguing ad for a service called something like ‘Must Win Club'.

For a small fee (around £10 for six months as I recall), Must Win Club claimed it would enter your personal details into just about every competition going, and further claimed to guarantee you a win. The ad was illustrated with a montage of potential prizes, including a Jaguar XKR and a tropical holiday.

Now I had a mate back then called Michael, with whom I shared a friendly rivalry. One day we got into an argument over who was the luckiest, and the upshot was, we both ended up mailing £10 to Must Win Club to contest each other's good fortune.

To cut a long story short, six months passed and, surprise-surprise, neither of us had won a sausage - let alone a Jag or a trip abroad - and Must Win Club was £20 richer. Of course, you're probably thinking, ‘serves you right' or ‘more fool you', plus maybe some expletive tagged on the end, and you're right - for we were mugs.

Today, your computer screen and the letterboxes of the more vulnerable elderly are the natural home for scam ads. And whereas I handed over just a tenner, the average loss today is £850 according to Consumer Direct, and OFT adds that many victims lose their life savings - so, despite my gullibility, I got off pretty lucky.Report the Scammers

If you think you've received a scam offer, OFT's advice is: 'Stop, think, and think again', don't rush into sending off any money, and get a second opinion on the ad from family or friends. If you're a victim or you want to report a scam, you can contact the Consumer Direct Scambuster team on 08454 04 05 06, or your local council's Trading Standards section.

So watch out for those ads that hit your inbox or land on your doormat that make extravagant, get rich quick promises, or guaranteed competition wins. Basically, always keep in mind that if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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