Brits face increasing scam culture
Published On 21 December 2006
Britons are increasing likely to fall foul of scammers, new research has discovered.Figures from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) indicate that one in 15 Brits is the subject of a scam each year, often in the form of emails and telephone calls.
In all, Brits lost an estimated £3.5 billion last year through cons, with the average trick seeing the victim £850 out of pocket.
"This research shows for the first time the full extent of damage done to individuals and to the wider UK economy by manipulative and malicious scams," explains Mike Haley from the OFT.
"The £3.5 billion stolen from the public, which will line the pockets of scammers this Christmas, equates to about £70 per year for each adult living in the UK."
The most frequent scam involves fake holiday clubs, which netted criminals around £1.2 billion in 2005.
Bogus high-risk investments are the second most common scam in Britain, costing Brits £490 million last year.
