Welcome to ScamWise, our consumer campaign designed to stop people from becoming scam victims.
If you’ve been affected by a scam, are concerned for a family member or friend, or just want to know more, we hope the following pages of information will help. For further advice and guidance, please contact the organisations listed on the righthand side of this page.
Scams are fraudulent and criminal activities designed to cheat you out of your money or obtain your personal details for illegal purposes.
Scammers target people of all ages, backgrounds and income levels and their scams can be very convincing.
Scams come in all shapes and sizes, from bogus lottery wins to miracle cures and chain letters and may target you online, by phone, by post or in person.
Be alert to this type of crime so that you can protect yourself and those close to you. Get scam wise by reading the information on these web pages and downloading our ScamWise booklet below: Scamwise booklet
If you’ve unfortunately fallen victim to a scam, we urge you to report it so that the authorities can help you and prevent the scammers from deceiving others.
After becoming a victim once you become a target for other scammers, so it’s especially important to be vigilant.
For further advice and guidance, contact the organisations in the list on the righthand side of this page.
Latest News
Week of action to raise awareness of consumer protection issues
Trading Standards South West (TSSW) and the 15 South West local authority Trading Standards services that it represents are joining forces and launching a week of action. The week of action will reveal the work of Trading Standards and raise awareness of issues affecting consumers in the region. The first… Read More
Scam warning: iTunes gift card scam
Take note of this latest phone scam. Recently fraudsters have been ringing people out of the blue and telling them that they need to make payments over the phone for things such as taxes, bail money, debt collection, or utility bills. They trick the victim is into believing that a… Read More