Scam Emails Wanted in Oxfordshire

14 May 2012, 10:00

Letters claiming you've won big money prizes or massive lottery wins - are very often fakes or scams say Trading Standards in Oxfordshire.

So this month, libraries across the county want you to take the letters, or copies of the emails to them to help Oxfordshire Trading Standards track down the culprits and look for prosecutions for offenders.

The scams consist of misleading emails and letters making false promises of huge bogus lottery wins or other high value prizes and always insist on payment to the sender before any winnings can be claimed.

Richard Webb, acting Head of Oxfordshire County Council's Trading Standards Service told Heart:

"Scammers often target the elderly or the vulnerable, who can find themselves on the receiving end of wave after wave of letters.

"In some cases, people are being sent up to 600 misleading letters a month from around the world. Those who fall victim to the mailings can send off hundreds of pounds a month over many years and despite riches promised in each letter, they never win a penny."

The mailings received in this year's "scamnesty" will be analysed and shared with partner enforcement agencies across the UK and abroad.

This will help build a picture of what is going on and crackdown on the senders and their networks.

If you want to hand in any suspicious letters/emails you can do so at any of the following libraries: Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Cowley,  Didcot, Henley, Kidlington, Oxford, Thame, Wantage and Witney