OFT warns racegoers - 'don't be taken for a ride'

The OFT is warning consumers who like a flutter on the horses not to be conned by bogus racing tipster mailings. The OFT estimates that punters lose at least £5million every year to such scams.

To fight back against the scammers, OFT ScamBusters, together with the South East Trading Standards ScamBusters Team, is handing out a fake racing tipster scam mailing to racegoers attending the Derby Festival meeting at Epsom Downs racecourse. Download the mailing at consumerdirect.gov.uk.

The mock mailing, which mimics the advertisments used by bogus tipsters, promises punters a 'guaranteed £10,000 a week' using 'unrivalled access to insider information' for a discounted membership fee of £100. The mailing has been issued by the OFT to help raise consumer awareness of tipster scams and highlight the tricks used by these scammers.

Every week hundreds of people lose money to a variety of tipster scams. Often victims receive a glossy mailing from a fake 'racing pundit' who claims to have access to inside information from trainers and owners and an amazing success rate that guarantees large profits.

Other tipster scams promise consumers a regular income placing bets on other people's behalf with punters told to send on winnings for successful bets while losses are "protected" by a money-back guarantee.

Victims often end up paying hundreds of pounds for a non-existent service and when they try to get their money back they find out that the pundit's name is made up and the address given is just a mailbox.

The OFT has also launched a new interactive scam guide designed to help people understand how a racing tipster scam works. The guide contains 'pop-up' text highlighting the tricks used by the scammers.

The interactive guide can be found in the scams area of the Consumer Direct website.

The OFT wants to hear from anyone who has recently lost money to a racing tipster scam mailing. Although the OFT cannot advise or assist individual complainants, it may be able to act to stop other people from being conned in the future. Complainants should send a copy of the mailing they received together with full details of how they were misled to ScamBusters Team (tipster scams), Office of Fair Trading, Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8JX.

Mike Haley, Head of Consumer Protection at the Office of Fair Trading said: 'These scammers are expert in one thing: parting people from their cash with empty promises of inside information, guaranteed huge profits and bogus money back offers. It's a gamble not worth taking.'

John McCririck, Channel 4 Racing presenter who is supporting the campaign, said: 'Punters are being misled and losing money and confidence while those behind these scams get richer. The activities of bogus racing tipsters are bringing into disrepute the whole of horseracing and I welcome any efforts to raise awareness and crack down on this problem for the benefit of the sport.'