Scam awareness campaign launches in Shropshire

The organisation is warning people to be more aware of scams after it revealed 51 per cent of people in the West Midlands have been approached by a scammers in the last two years.

But more worrying, it said, only 49 per of those people reported it.

Under the slogan 'Stop, report, talk: Be #scamaware', Citizens Advice Shropshire is encouraging people to talk about their experiences and look out for others, particularly more vulnerable people.

Jackie Jeffrey, chief officer of Citizens Advice Shropshire said: “'Stop, report, talk: Be #scamaware' is our message to people in Shropshire.

“We’re finding that although many people have come into contact with scammers, very few people are speaking up about this issue.

“People can sometimes feel foolish or embarrassed reporting their experiences, but sadly this means perpetrators are getting away scot-free.

“In reality, all of us can have the bad luck of being targeted with a scam. We hope this scams awareness campaign will encourage people to share their stories and learn tips to stop scammers from running off with people’s money.”

More than half of all scams reported to the Citizens Advice consumer service in the last year used well-established, offline methods.

These classic tactics from the scammers’ playbook include unsolicited doorstep selling, mail and cold calling, and saw people lose an average of almost £3,000.

Fraudsters using these methods are known to overwhelmingly target older, more vulnerable people.