Scams Awareness Fortnight 2022

With many people facing increased financial pressures, there is a high chance that scammers will take advantage of this, so it's really important to be #ScamAware, recognise a scam and take the right action.

Spam emails, ‘suspicious activity’ alerts from your bank, and news stories about data breaches seem to have become part of our daily lives. Estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales suggest there were 5.1 million fraud offences in the year ending Sept 2021. Citizens Advice research found that in the first five months of 2021 more than two thirds of adults (36 million people) had been targeted by a scam.

Increased financial pressures have put more people into difficult situations, facing issues such as debt or not being able to afford essential goods and services. Scammers are likely to exploit these. Anyone can be a victim of a scam, so it’s more important than ever to remain alert, spot potential scams and make sure you know how to protect yourself and others.

There are lots of different types of scams emerging. Here are some examples to look out for:

• Scammers pretending to be energy companies, luring people with ‘too good to be true’ deals, in order to steal bank details and money.
• Fake sales representatives selling counterfeit shopping vouchers.
• Fraudsters sending out phishing emails pretending to offer an energy rebate, or government support, to obtain people’s personal information.

There’s lots of advice on the Citizens Advice website, including how to:

• check if something might be a scam 
• check if you can get your money back after a scam 
• what to do if you've been scammed 
• report a scam 
• get emotional support if you’ve been scammed 
• get help with online scams 

Reporting Scams

If you are a victim of cybercrime or online fraud and scams, report it to Action Fraud tel: 0300 123 2040.

Suspicious, or phishing emails, should be forwarded to the National Cyber Security Centre's Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) email: report@phishing.gov.uk

Support and Information

There are many sources of support and information about scams:

• Fraud information from Derbyshire police
• Derbyshire County Council has scam information including details of their scams bulleting for regularly updated information about local and national scams
• Check your online safety with the county council’s Digital MOT, developed in partnership with Derbyshire Police
• Citizens Advice Consumer Service 0808 223 1133
• You can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
• The government Take Five to Stop Fraud information 
• Sign up to the Which? Scam Alert Service 
• Derbyshire Victim Services for free practical and emotional support