A campaign starts on the Island today to help tackle mass marketing scams.
The Isle of Wight Council’s Trading Standards service has joined forces with the Office of Fair Trading to run a scheme called ‘Scamnesty’.
It starts today and runs through the month of February aiming to bring an end to many of the mass marketing scams that we’re all subject to in one way or another almost every day.
How does it work?
There will be a number of ‘Scamnesty’ boxes scattered around the Island and residents are encouraged to drop any scam mailing they might have received into the boxes.
This can include details of emails, phone calls as well as printed letters and flyers.
Apparently UK consumers lose around £3.5 billion to scams every year!
Where will the bins be?
There’s a fairly good distribution of ‘Scamnesty’ bins around the island in the following locations:
Bembridge – Parish Council Offices
Brading – Post Office
Brighstone – Post Office
Shanklin – Shanklin News and Age Concern (Regent Street)
Freshwater – Library
Freshwater Bay – Post Office
Gurnard – Gurnard News
Ryde – Library and Sub Post Office Union Street
Nettlestone – Vics Stores
Seaview – Post Office
Pan – Pan Stores
Northwood – Northwood Stores
East Cowes – Library and Osborne Garage
Cowes – Library
Ventnor – Library
Ventnor Upper – Spar
Wootton – Post Office
St Helens – Post Office
St Lawrence – Post Office
Lake – Post Office
Brook – Post Office
Chale – Chale Green Stores
Wroxall – Post Office
Rookley – Post Office
Sandown – Library and Perowne Way Stores
Newport – Library and Spar, Upper St James Street,
Isle of Wight Council Mobile Library
The council tell us that the campaign that ran last year resulted in this top five mass-marketed scam mailings:
1. Deceptive sweepstakes
2. Misleading prize draws
3. Fake clairvoyants/psychics
4. Bogus foreign lotteries
5. ‘Miracle’ health cures.
If you think you have been the victim of a scam, or you suspect a scam, call Consumer Direct for clear, practical advice on 08454 04 05 06.
