Derbyshire in clampdown on scam mail

The council’s ‘Scamnesty’ is part of a national campaign running throughout May to fight back against fraudsters who cause misery to thousands of people nationwide.

People are being asked to come forward with suspect material, such as mail about lotteries, and to drop it off at their local library or Citizens’ Advice Bureau. They can also report telephone and internet scams.

Cabinet member for health and communities, Coun Dave Allen, said: “There are dozens of scams circulating at any one time which is why our Scamnesty is so important.

“I urge Derbyshire residents to become our eyes and ears by reporting the latest scams. We can then use this intelligence to help our investigations and take action where it’s needed.

“The bottom line here is that if an offer seems too good to be true it probably is. That’s why I would suggest to people that they should never to give out their bank details or send any money to these unscrupulous tricksters.”

Although Scamnesty is just for the month of May the county council’s trading standards team wants to hear about scams all year round.

If people think they’ve been scammed they can get advice and report it to trading standards on 08454 04 05 06, or alternatively report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, to help stop it happening to others.