The biggest scams costing Warwickshire residents thousands

FROM “green energy” installations to bogus investments and romance scams, as part of Scams Awareness Month 2017 Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards is highlighting some of the scams that are costing Warwickshire residents thousands.

Owners of solar panels are increasingly being targeted by bogus companies falsely claiming that additional components are needed to improve safety or efficiency. One Warwickshire resident paid over £4000 for a ‘magic box’ that was meant to improve the efficiency of his solar panel water heating device. Instead it did the opposite - his solar panels ended up giving out heat from his boiler to the outside air.

Some Warwickshire residents are also contacting the service after falling victim to romance scams, often via online dating websites. One resident reported losing over £30,000 after being contacted online by someone she thought was in the American Army. The fraudster established a relationship with the victim and convinced her to send money to an account in Turkey in order to support her ‘new partner’s’ imminent retirement. The fraudsters even sent bogus photographs and regularly spoke to the victim over the phone.

Scammers are also targeting residents with large savings and those who have ‘unlocked’ their pensions, with bogus investment opportunities. One Warwickshire resident was convinced to ‘invest’ in pink diamonds from the world’s last pink diamond mine. It is believed that he may have sent over £50,000 to fraudsters who contacted him over the phone.

Warwickshire County Councillor Howard Roberts, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety said: “Most of us will have been targeted by a fraudster at one time or another, over the phone, on the internet, through the post and even occasionally at the door. Reports of scams and frauds have increased by eight per cent this year to an estimated 3.6 million cases and £10.9 billion pounds is being lost to fraudsters annually.”