Over £160 million has been fictitiously awarded to 'Lucky Prize Draw Winners' residing in Cornwall.
These are the findings of Cornwall Council Trading Standard's "Scamnesty" appeal for people to hand in their junk mail.
"And these were just the people that responded to our appeal" said Trading Standards authorized officer Julia Groves.
"Because of the success of this years appeal through Cornwall Council's one stop shops and libraries, Trading Standards were able to pinpoint some of the residents who were receiving excessively large amounts of mail and offer individual support and advice.
"Sadly, if you respond to a scam, even only once, you are likely to have your details placed onto a 'Suckers List', which gets sold on around the scammers' network, and can result in people being flooded with scams and junk mail".
Scams come in many forms, from bogus prize draws, to threatening letters from faux Psychics.
As a result of this Scamnesty, Cornwall Trading Standards were able to distinguish that one of the most common scam approaches used was that of the 'Advanced Fee' scam.
Personalised letters are sent, claiming to be from a Business Relations Manager in Hong Kong, who wishes to transfer a large amount of money, using the recipient's bank account details, the recipient is promised a large fee.
The scammer is simply after your bank account details, which they can then use, or sell on, to your detriment! The letter is scam, and of the people who responded to the Cornwall Trading Standards Scamnesty, 19 of them had all received this same letter!
"Our advice is always the same", added Julia Groves "you can't win a prize draw you haven't entered, and if an investment or opportunity looks too good to be true, it probably is!"
If you have been the victim of a scam or you wish to report one, please contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 040506 or for more information, go to www.actionfraud.police.uk
