Scammers continue to impersonate trading standards to defraud public

A mail scam that impersonates the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) continues to be active after almost a year.

Back in April 2021, CTSI warned about letters sent to the public that informed them that trading standards have caught insurance scammers and that they should fill in a “creditors debt form” as part of a bogus compensation scheme. The letter, clad in CTSI branding, is entirely phoney and filling out the form, which requests personal details, puts the respondent at risk of financial theft.

Initially, reports of the fraudulent letter came from people living in England; however, CTSI understands that scammers are sending it throughout the United Kingdom, with the letter recently materialising at a Scottish address.

CTSI Chief Executive, John Herriman, said: “It disgusts me that fraudsters are impersonating CTSI to trick the public into handing over hard-earned sums of money. Scammers routinely impersonate trusted organisations to deceive people. Pretending to be an organisation committed to protecting consumers is an affront to the hard-working trading standards teams who work tirelessly to protect the public and demonstrates the depths to which some will stoop.

“We have notified trading standards services across the country of these letters, and consumer protection professionals continue working hard to protect the public from these types of scams.”

Members of the public who receive this letter should contact the Financial Conduct Authority.

For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

To report scams, contact Action Fraud, in Scotland, contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or if in Northern Ireland, call Consumerline on 0300 123 6262.

The public is encouraged to join Friends Against Scams, an initiative aiming to protect and prevent people from becoming scam victims by empowering them to take a stand against scams.