Consumer Direct launches new scams reporting function

Consumer Direct, the government advice service, has added a new reporting function to its website to help in the fight against mass marketed scams.

The new reporting form will allow members of the public to record details of the type of scam that they have encountered, to provide information on the potential scammers and to add any further information which they feel may be of use to the authorities.
Each submitted form will be kept on Consumer Direct's database and made available to Local Authority Trading Standards Services and the Office of Fair Trading to help them in their battle against persistent scammers.

According to OFT research, three million UK consumers fall victim to scams every year and lose an estimated £3.5 billion. However, fewer than five per cent of people report scams to the authorities.

Greg South, Operations Manager for Consumer Direct said: 'In the past, people who have been targeted by scammers via the post, phone or internet may have felt unsure about how they could help, but this new online form will enable them to provide vital intelligence to the enforcement community.'

The Consumer Direct website at consumerdirect.gov.uk also has information on how to spot scams currently circulating in the UK, including bogus foreign lotteries, pyramid selling schemes, miracle cures and investment scams.

The scams reporting launch coincides with Scams Awareness Month - an annual international initiative organised by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network. In the UK, Scams Awareness Month is supported by the OFT, local authority Trading Standards Services, Consumer Direct, the Advertising Standards Authority and other consumer and industry bodies.

The new scams reporting form can be accessed on the Consumer Direct website at consumerdirect.gov.uk/watch_out/scams/.