Don't miss a trick. Be scam aware

Scams are frauds and tricks designed to cheat people out of their money or personal information. Other names for a scam include fraud, hoax, con, swindle and cheat.

Research, done by Citizen’s Advice, found that almost three-quarters (72%) of people have been targeted by scammers in the last 2 years, either via mail, phone calls, text messages, emails, online and face-to-face.

According to Action Fraud, an estimated £10.9 billion is lost to scams and fraud each year, but only 1 in 5 people report it.

There are many different types of scams and fraudsters are always looking for new ways to trick you at any point of your everyday life – shopping, holidays, pension, investments, banking, government websites, social media, applying for jobs.

Scam letters and emails will look professional and seem convincing and cold callers will sound genuine. Remember - if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

If you have been scammed, it's important to report it to Action Fraud to help protect others and to help the authorities catch scammers.

If you come across a suspected scam, report it to Action Fraud to help others avoid them too.

Take Five to Stop Fraud has lots of information and advice available to protect yourself from scams.