OFT highlights spread of online scams

The OFT is currently running its Scamnesty campaign in partnership with Consumer Direct

The Office of Fair Trading has boosted its anti-scam awareness campaign with new research into the depth and spread of fraudulent online activity.

The government watchdog released the results of a new survey into scams, showing that one in 11 adults in the UK have fallen victim to a scam, and almost a third have lost money as a result.

One in 25 people responded to a scam in the past year alone, and almost half lost up to £50 as a result, according to the report.

Unsurprisingly, email attacks are the most common form of scam attempt, and a shocking 75 per cent of adults have replied to such an email in the past year.

Letter-based scams account for 21 per cent of attempts, and text messages account for 12 per cent. Social media sites, which the OFT described as a new route for scammers, were used in nine per cent of incidences.

Three in 10 adults who responded to a scam received a message back. Some 54 per cent were asked to send money, and a third to send personal information.

"It is really important that people are on their guard and know that help is available as scams can bring real upset and misery to their victims," said consumer minister Kevin Brennan.

"We have invested £7.5m to create 'scambuster' teams across the country. These specialist Trading Standards teams are working hard with the police and others across local authority boundaries to come down hard on the worst scammers. We are determined to take the fight to these crooks."

The OFT is currently running its Scamnesty campaign in partnership with Consumer Direct, and is calling on consumers to send in any examples of scam mailings.

"Scammers are using ever more sophisticated and cunning tactics to dupe people out of their cash," said OFT chief executive John Fingleton.

"We want people to recognise the warning signs, and feel confident enough to seek advice from friends and family or from Consumer Direct."

Mel Morris, chief executive of internet security firm Prevx, welcomed the the campaign, but warned that education "is only one side of the coin".

"The challenge is that the R&D budgets of most scammers today are so heavily funded that criminals can launch ever more sophisticated attacks that continuously poke holes in PC security," he added.

"The goal should be to cut these scams off at the source, meaning the second someone goes online they are protected against an attack. When coupled with education programmes such as the OFT’s this will be our most effective weapon in the war against cybercrime."