SCAM SCHEME . . . Councillor Colin Smyth, centre, shows off some of the region’s intercepted mail with trading standards officer Jonathon Weirs and trading standards manager Sandra Harkness
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s trading standards team have been working alongside the national scams team to identify and intercept scams, and the partnership approach is allowing intercepted cheques and money sent by people in the region to be returned to their rightful owners.
So far over ten cheques have been returned to victims in the region who had responded to dishonest scammers, and there were also instances where more then one cheque had been sent to an individual – highlighting that people can repeatedly be the victim of a scam.
Councillor Colin Smyth, who is chairman of the council’s environment, economy and infrastructure committee, says the council’s trading standards team are happy to offer advice and tips on how to spot scam schemes.
He added: “Protecting the vulnerable is a priority of this council. The council’s trading standards team have been working together with the national scams team allowing us to stop people in the region from losing their money.
“Nobody can afford to be scammed. As such, we will continue to support national initiatives like this.
“Our team are continually trying to identify ways to minimise opportunities for scammers and to raise awareness of potential scams.”
