Cheshire West and Chester Trading Standards and Cheshire West Citizens Advice are joining forces to give people in the borough the knowledge to spot scams.
Cheshire West Citizens Advice will be running scams awareness workshops as part of Scams Awareness Month, a national campaign encouraging people to report and talk about scams.
Scammers can strike at any time, from cold-calling people with a fake investment opportunity to posting online adverts for products which don’t exist.
People will learn the tricks and tactics scammers use to try and steal people’s money, such as making contact out of the blue and piling pressure on people to agree to a deal on the spot.
The event also aims to get more people reporting scams so the authorities can chase down fraudsters. Reporting being scammed also means that people can receive advice on how to try and get their money back or any other steps they should take to protect themselves.
The events will take place on:
Tuesday, July 4, at Northwich library
Wednesday, July 5, at Ellesmere Port library
Friday, July 7, as part of a Digital Buddies session at Storyhouse, Chester (Contact digitalbuddieshereandnow@gmail.com for more information on joining)
Thursday, July 13, at Winsford library
The council’s cabinet member for environment Cllr Karen Shore said: “We’re urging people to lift the lid on scams and start talking about suspicious email, junk mail, online ads or door-to-door sellers operating in their area. Scams thrive on silence. Fraudsters know that victims are often too ashamed to talk about what happened to them, meaning that scams can continue to spread unchecked.
“We are pleased to be supporting Scams Awareness Month again in 2017 with Cheshire West Citizens Advice.
“We would advise people who can’t attend one of the workshops to report any scams to Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.”
Chief executive of Cheshire West Citizens Advice Paul Nicholls said: “Knowing how to spot a scam is the best line of defence against being scammed.
“While scammers will always use tactics like cut-price deals and pressure selling to draw people in, there are more ways for scammers to reach people with different bogus offers - from texts and emails to social media and online adverts. People will be able to take away a few key tips from the event which will help protect them against a range of different scams.
“People are also often reluctant to talk about scams so we want this event to bring the issue out into the open and look forward to seeing as many people as possible there.”
