Unwanted mail, email and telephone calls

Unwanted mail, email and telephone calls are not only a nuisance but are sometimes the source of scams.

Most of us receive offers inviting us to send money to claim a prize. If it sounds too good to be true it usually is. Always read the small print.

If you respond an ‘invitation’ to claim a prize, you are likely to receive more and more similar ‘invitations’ asking for larger and larger sums of money.

These offers are made by letter, phone, fax and email.

If you are a carer for an elderly or vulnerable person – keep an eye out for these types of scam.

Mail

You can register with the Mailing Preference Service (MPS) to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive.

If the mail appears to come from Europe, send it to the European Enforcement Team at the Office of Fair Trading.

If you have already sent money and not received anything in return write again and complain. There is very little else you can do to try to recover your money.

Telephone calls

Register with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) to reduce unwanted calls.

Never give out your credit or debit card details.

If someone telephones saying you have won a free prize such as a holiday be very wary.

Only make payment when you know exactly what is being offered, what you are paying for and who you are paying your money to. The holiday may be free but you may have to pay for flights or expensive insurance. Be careful – it may be that you pay an 'administration fee’ but have no guarantee of getting the holiday.

Faxes

Register with the Facsimile Preference Service (FPS) to prevent unwanted faxes and wasted paper. 

It is against the law to send unsolicited sales and marketing faxes without the recipients' prior consent.  Be very wary of fax communications purporting to be from ’official’ bodies. They sometimes ask that the recipient telephones or faxes back on a premium rate telephone number. If you are suspicious of a fax of this type, telephone the consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06.

Emails

Never send personal information, such as your address or bank account details, via email. If you want to make a payment only do so over a secure link, indicated by a small padlock at the edge of the screen.

There is now a ban on sending unsolicited email to individuals. This type of communication is sometimes referred to as spam. These rules only apply to email sent from within Europe. Much of this email is sent from other countries. 

Never respond to spam emails, even by ticking the ‘unsubscribe’ button. The worst spammers have simply sent out millions of emails with addresses that they have made up. Your response may stop you getting that message again but it will also move your address to the list of known emails and will lead to you receiving many more.

Report spam emails to Action Fraud.

Find out more about how to be secure online.