Scams

There are a number of fraudulent schemes promising large sums of money, mostly from foreign countries, if you perform a series of tasks.

Scammers may contact you via mail, email, telephone or even doorknocking. Some of the most common scams are:

• Goods awaiting collection once a delivery charge is paid
• The opportunity to be part of an exclusive lottery through payment of an upfront fee
• The opportunity to take part in a ‘skills’ competition after payment of a fee
• The opportunity to sign up for a free trials, and being charged an ongoing subscription fee automatically if not cancelled within a specific time
• A payment to receive “how-to-make-money” information, lottery or horse-betting predictions, and personalised horoscopes
• Another common scam is called the ‘sales agent’ scheme. Jobs are advertised that provide the opportunity to earn a commission, simply by receiving payment for sale of goods into your personal account.