Become a Scam Champion
Nobody is immune from fraud. The criminals behind it target people online and in their homes, often emotionally manipulating their victims before they steal money or personal data.
But there is something we can do. By staying vigilant and always taking a moment to stop, think and check whenever we're approached, we can help to protect ourselves and each other from fraud.
In just one year, 1 in 17 adults were victims of fraud
Locally, you can sign up to become a Scam Champion, and this is what Surrey resident Jo did after his parents were vulnerable to scammers. Jo says;
"I signed up to become a Scam Champion and agreed to join the training event and the team of other Scam Champion volunteers. Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards provided the leaflets, stickers, posters and demonstration models.
"As part of the role, there are opportunities to meet different people from Housing Associations, Women's Institute and a wide variety of groups. Most of the time the group organiser is looking for a speaker to talk about scams. Quite often they will tell me beforehand that they think scam awareness is a "good thing", even though their members are not affected by them. After the talk, when I have provided an opportunity for their members to share their scam stories, they are horrified at how prevalent scams are within their group.
"I was phoned by the daughter of someone who had attended, to say that her mother had lost £20,000 in a scam, however she had remembered the message about talking about scams with friends and family and had told her about what had happened. As a result, the family were able to quickly work with the bank to recover all the lost money.
"My hope is that the people will have been able to protect themselves from scammer and should they be caught they can quickly react to recover any losses."
How to report a Scam
If you or someone you know has been the victim of a scam you should report it.
Spread the word and become a Scam Champion
Scam champions work with Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards to:
- protect and empower you and your local community
- build resilience against scams and rogue traders
- help to make Buckinghamshire and Surrey safer places to live and work
If you would like to raise awareness and become a Friend Against Scams you can take part in the online training. To become a Scam Champion please join one of Trading Standards free webinars.
For more information on how to avoid scams see the Trading Standards web page and sign up to their regular newsletter.
Please take a look at other volunteering roles within Trading Standards.
