What are we planning to do?
Citizens Advice Kingston is taking part in Scams Awareness Month which is in July.
Why are we doing this?
To help people avoid being victims of fraud which loses them money and causes distress. We will be supported by Citizens Advice Head Office who will provide us with a variety or materials and resources to make our campaign successful. We also hope to work with RBK Trading Standards Department, in the same way that we have each year, to spread the word to as wide an audience as possible. Working together we can, and have, made a real difference in our community.
What will we do?
The main work will be to spread the word about what is a scam and how to avoid them – or in the event that you do fall victim to one, how to report it and what action might be taken to stop this happening to someone else.
The central message for Scams Awareness Month is that we want people to:
take a moment,
trust their gut instinct so that they
get advice
report scams and
tell others about their experiences.
Here are some key messages to start off our campaign – more to follow in July:
- Don’t be rushed – resist pressure to make a decision straight away.
- If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
- Don’t suffer in silence – speak out about scams.
- If you haven’t bought a ticket – you can’t win it.
- Never send money to someone you have never met or don’t trust.
- You shouldn’t have to pay anything to get a prize.
- Contacted out of the blue – be suspicious.
- Reject cold calls offering investments or pension advice.
- Walk away from job ads that ask for money in advance.
- Your bank will never attend your home to collect cash, your pin, payment card or chequebook if you are a victim of fraud.
- Your bank will never phone you to ask for your PIN or your online banking password.
- Your bank will never ask you to transfer money to a new account for fraud reasons.
- Suspect a phone scam? Hang up, wait five minutes to clear the line or use another phone to call your bank.
- Genuine computer firms do not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix I’m glad your computer.
