Don't throw away letters you receive from Nigerian banks, foreign lottery offers, so-called free offers or other scams – give them to Gateshead Council instead!
Scamnesty is a year long project to investigate the nature of scams which are most often targeted against Gateshead residents, to see if there are any common features which will help us devise effective counter measures.
We have put Scamnesty Boxes into every local library in Gateshead and all you need to do is drop your scam letters in them so they can be taken away and analysed.
We receive dozens of complaints each year from people who have been unwitting victims of postal scams, many of which have been put together cleverly so that they look completely legitimate. Among the scams most regularly seen are:
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International Lottery Scams
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'Miracle' health cures
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Clairvoyant Scams
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Sweepstakes
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Premium phone number scams (usually phoning the number to try and claim a prize)
In 2006, research carried out on behalf of the Consumer Association suggested that some 28 million people are targeted by scammers each year. Currently, it is thought that around 3 million UK residents lose money to scams each year.
Over a third of the UK's population (34%) have previously been targeted by premium phone rate scams, and 16% have been targeted by international lottery scams.
Scamnesty boxes are currently being rolled out to libraries libraries throughout Gateshead|.
You can also send in your email scams direct to Gateshead Council by forwarding them to scamnesty@gateshead.gov.uk| .