Mass Market Fraud is a type of fraud which aims to make victims part with their money by promising cash, prizes, services and high returns on investment. Examples include foreign lotteries, ‘boiler room’ frauds, correspondence scams where fraudsters purport to act on behalf of bona fide charities and institutions and ask you to provide money and personal information. The majority of these frauds are committed from overseas by way of email, telephone or letter to the victim in the United Kingdom.
Everyone is vulnerable to these types of fraud. Fraudsters will go to great lengths and costs to get their hands on your hard earned cash. This proves how lucrative fraud can be and how many people are caught out.
Here are some classic frauds and what you can do to avoid being caught out.
‘Congratulations! You’ve won the X Lottery!’
The truth is ……You never entered this lottery. The names, faces and testimonies of previous winners are included in the letter to convince you to part with your personal details and cash.
What you should do ….. Throw away the letter. Don’t contact the sender. Never provide any details electronically, for example, your date of birth, bank account numbers, and so on.
