A day to beat fraud

Organizations in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands have joined together to make June 1st 2010 a global day of action and awareness to fight back against mass market fraud.

People in the UK lose an estimated 3.5 billion pounds every year to mass market fraud -- from romance frauds and fake lotteries to share frauds and inheritance scams -- and the frauds are getting more plausible and more complex as criminals try to stay one step ahead of public awareness and the law. That's why the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), together with other British organizations and their partners in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands has decided to declare June 1st a global day of action and awareness in the field.

Some pieces of advice offered by the SOCA and its partners:

• If you have been a victim, speak up about it.
• If you think this is something that can't affect you, think again.
• Remember -- if you haven't entered a competition, you won't have won a prize
• Ask questions -- If someone is legitimate they won't pressurise you or be elusive
• Never provide money upfront
• Be very wary about giving your personal information to strangers
• Look out for bad spelling and grammar, they are often a sign of a fraudulent organization
• Remember that websites can be faked too, and that someone may claim to work for a well known company. Always check the real company's details against the ones you have been given, and ring them direct if you are in doubt.

The SOCA reminds consumers that mass market fraud doesn't just exploit the postal service. A lot of it is delivered direct to people's inboxes via email.

Source: SOCA.