Don't be a Christmas scam victim

330,000 people become scam victims over this Christmas period, at a cost of £850 each. Don't be one of them.

I sometimes have my doubts about The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), but it still gets a lot right. Currently it’s doing some good by cracking down really hard on scams, and increasing publicity about them.

The OFT says there are £3.5bn taken in scams each year, with the average victim losing £850. This means a potential 4 million people are scammed, although it’s more likely that some of these people fall prey twice or more.

I once new a young lady who fell for that ancient, three-card-trick scam. She wagered £50 against a street fraudster that she could pick the Ace when he slid some cards round the table. She followed her card carefully. He made it easy, she thought. When she selected a dud, she couldn’t believe it. Her disbelief was so great that she wagered another £50, which she promptly lost.

If you’re unprepared, it’s quite easy to fall for the same trick twice.

Scams at Christmas during a recession

Based on that figure of 4 million a year, we can expect perhaps as many as 330,000 people to be scammed over the Christmas period. I think that this year it could easily be higher. Many people are suffering financially, which means there are more people who are desperate enough to try anything.

What’s more, Christmas is a time when scammers can really destroy a lot of people. As the OFT says:

‘It is a period when many people feel under financial and emotional pressure. It's an opportune time for would-be scammers to prey on people's vulnerability with bogus prize, gift and cash offers.’

Common scams, the OFT says, are bogus lotteries, deceptive prize draws and fake psychics. These are all, perhaps, things that desperate people would consider more readily around Christmas and New Year. 'Scammers', adds the OFT, 'are also likely to prey on people wanting to slim down for the Christmas season with miracle slimming products.'

The emotional consequences of being scammed

Worse than the financial loss is the psychological effect. Many scam victims suffer depression or low self-esteem, and their confidence is destroyed.

It can be all out of proportion to the loss incurred. The young lady I mentioned lost her spark for quite some time. (She’s over it now but, still, go easy on her in your comments, please. She suffered enough.)

If you’re scammed, try not to let it get the better of you. We all make stupid mistakes from time to time. It’s in the past. You were stupid but you’ve learned. You’re wiser. You’ll recover. Laughter, I think, is the best cure. It's healthy to laugh at ourselves sometimes.

Ten tips to spot a scam

Still, we make plenty of laughable mistakes even without being scammed, so let’s try to avoid this fom happening!

The OFT has come up with a good list of things to do to spot and avoid scams. I’ve tidied it up and improved it a little for you:

1. Be suspicious of letters, phone calls, or emails asking you to send money. Check out the sender and ask the opinion of family, friends or neighbours.
2. If an offer looks too good to be true then, almost without doubt, it certainly is! Trust your gut instincts.
3. Always think twice.
4. Ask yourself: ‘Can I afford to lose money on this?’
5. Never send money to anyone who says you’ve won the lottery or a big prize. You'll never see your winnings.
6. Don’t be rushed into sending off money by time-sensitive deadlines.
7. Never ring an 090 number unless you’re certain how much the call will cost, and know what you’re likely to receive.
8. Never disclose your bank-account, credit-card or personal details to people you don’t know. If a company you have a relationship with calls asking for any such details, hang up, get their number from the Internet, and call them back.
9. Don’t send money off just because a letter seems official. If you haven’t heard of them, check them out first.
10. Scammers often use fake testimonials to support their claims, but don’t let them fool you. Make your own mind up.

Don't suffer scams in silence. Report scams to the OFT and Trading Standards and get advice from other lovemoney.com readers via our Q&A tool.

> Read New online threat that will wreck your Christmas

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*This article has been revised and updated from an earlier version published in 2010.