Sandra MacSparron and Emma Hanlan-Baker from the Public Protection Trading Standards team at Pembrokeshire
County Council.

EVERY year, hundreds of thousands of pounds are estimated to have been lost in Pembrokeshire as a result of people being scammed. Many hundreds of people in the County fall victim to postal, phone or email scams annually – as well as rogue doorstep traders. Cllr Huw George, Cabinet Member for Enironmental and Regulatory Services said: “There are some heartbreaking stories of people in Pembrokeshire who have been targeted and caught out by these scammers, and have lost huge sums of money.”

As a result, the Trading Standards team at Pembrokeshire County Council has been working on specific ways of protecting people who are more vulnerable to being targeted. People of any age and background can be susceptible to fall for scams. Often they are elderly or live alone with no family nearby. Nigel Watts, Trading Standards, Animal Health and Welfare Manager said: “Unfortunately, criminals have put together lists of vulnerable people all over Britain and are selling them to scam companies.

“We have received a copy of this list from the National Trading Standards Board and our team has identified up to 300 people on it from Pembrokeshire who are potentially vulnerable. “We have been writing to them to ask if we can advise them on issues which may affect them.” He added: “We are also giving talks to local groups about how to spot a potential scam and are working with several partner organisations including social services, local banks, Age Concern, and PAVS.” Signs which indicate someone is being scammed include an increase in post. Once someone replies to one postal scam they will usually start receiving lots more. Some people can receive up to 50 letters a day.

Other signs include changes in spending – withdrawing large sums of money or writing lots of cheques – or receiving lots of phone calls. Nigel added: “If you think you or a member of your family is being scammed, come to us and we will assist. “We are especially keen for any family or carers of elderly people who think something might be wrong to contact us.

“Often, people don’t realise they are being scammed and it doesn’t come to light until a relative or carer notices something suspicious.” Nationally, £3.5 billion a year is lost through scams, including £60 million on fake prize draws. Sandra McSparron, Senior Trading Standards Officer, warned against being duped by letters, emails and phone calls about such draws.

She said: “Remember, if you have not entered a prize draw, then you have not won anything. “People in Pembrokeshire have lost tens of thousands of pounds on these fake prize draws and false inheritance scams. “Some people are tempted to take the risk. It’s the lure of the possibility of being set up for life. And if only one or two out of a thousand take the risk, then that’s worth it for the scammers. “Be warned – if it looks too good to be true, it always is.”

National work to clamp down on scams include an initiative by Royal Mail and the National Trading Standards Board Scams Team, which are working to identify scam mail and stop it entering the postal network. The team has already intercepted up to six tons of scam mail in Britain and £100,000 – and that’s the tip of the iceberg. Sandra continued: “Some people are taken in by rogue companies because they provide a UK address – but some scam companies buy mail forwarding addresses or a UK domain name, to make them appear to be UKbased, when they are actually based abroad.”

She added: “These people are unscrupulous. Businesses can also be targeted- receiving invoices for goods or services not agreed to, followed by threats from alleged debt collectors if payment is not made. “Unfortunately it is happening in Pembrokeshire. We’ve got a number of examples of it. Come and report it to us. We know it can cause a great deal of anxiety. There is advice that we can provide.”