0:00:02 > 0:00:04Tricksters and conmen are trying to take our savings.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08Every year, a shocking 3.2 million people
0:00:08 > 0:00:13fall for their devious and ingenious scams.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35Coming up: the dangers of falling in love over the internet.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38You feel like you've let people down.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41You've let your family down.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Plus we look at the scourge of scam mail
0:00:44 > 0:00:47and see just how it can devastate someone's life.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52I would gladly have given them everything, just to get my mother back.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53They stole her from me.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57I'm here to tell you what the conman doesn't want you to know.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00How to stay one step ahead of the game and not get scammed.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10If, as the song says, "love is all around"
0:01:10 > 0:01:13then why can it be so hard to find?
0:01:13 > 0:01:19The internet can offer the answer, but scammers have cottoned on to this, and over the last few years,
0:01:19 > 0:01:21the Serious Organised Crime Agency, SOCA,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25have seen a big rise in online romance scams.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29This is a tens of millions of pounds'
0:01:29 > 0:01:32problem for the United Kingdom.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Very typically, what happens is somebody will be either contacted
0:01:36 > 0:01:39either because they've gone on to a website
0:01:39 > 0:01:43a dating site, a lonely hearts site, something like that,
0:01:43 > 0:01:48and they'll be contacted by somebody who will start to befriend them.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52But it's not just dating websites that are used by scammers
0:01:52 > 0:01:55to close in on potential targets.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Social networking sites used to just be
0:01:58 > 0:02:01for the technologically savvy.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05But not any more. They're for everyone. And that includes scam artists.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Your hobbies, your beliefs, your interests,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13they're all things that a scam artist can use
0:02:13 > 0:02:15to build up a picture of their next target.
0:02:17 > 0:02:2232-year-old Marie is single, and had just started looking into internet dating when,
0:02:22 > 0:02:28out of the blue, a man calling himself Nelson contacted her on Facebook.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31- Hiya!- Marie?- Ooh, hello! Who's that?
0:02:31 > 0:02:34- That's Penny.- Is she OK out? - Yeah. Penny!
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Come on, we've got to hear a story, Penny.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44Just a general message, saying what his name was
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and he was a US soldier
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and he just noticed me and thought he'd like to start chatting to me.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53And if I was interested.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58Nelson told Marie he was an American soldier serving at their army base in Nigeria.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03What Marie didn't know was that he was a sophisticated scam artist
0:03:03 > 0:03:06and that she was well and truly in his sights.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11They often say "I'm in the army." Often the American army.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16When scouting for targets, conmen are looking for the chinks in somebody's armour.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Something to exploit. Personal information on sites such as Facebook
0:03:20 > 0:03:25gives them all they need to establish common ground with their victims.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30What information did you put on Facebook? What was available for people to see?
0:03:30 > 0:03:33He could see that I was single and a Christian.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37That was probably the main thing and the two main things he used.
0:03:37 > 0:03:43They seem like two fairly harmless pieces of information, but to the scammer it was what he needed.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47As the pair began exchanging messages, he said he was also a Christian
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and even quoted passages from the Bible, all music to Marie's ears.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53How quickly did things move?
0:03:53 > 0:03:57It went so quickly. Things happened really fast.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01When it's a scam, they rapidly fall in love with you.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03They rapidly want to meet you.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06These are the warning signs to look for.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11It's not a natural progression of any sort of relationship which has started like that.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Nelson certainly wasn't playing hard to get.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19He quickly moved out of the confines of the internet, chatting to Marie on the phone.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Can you describe how he'd speak to you?
0:04:21 > 0:04:24You're speaking to supposedly an American. How did he sound?
0:04:24 > 0:04:27When I spoke to him, he sounded American.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31There was a second accent which freaked me out a bit.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34It sounded a bit Spanish.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38But he said his mother was Mexican and his father was American.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Not unusual for me. My mother's French, my father's British, I'm South African.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47So that wasn't unusual or weird.
0:04:47 > 0:04:54So I just went, "Oh, OK." I didn't question it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Smitten, Marie was being sucked in fast.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The time for Nelson to get down to business.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06They will invariably ask for some sort of financial assistance.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10Maybe straight up for money. They might ask for money to help with a visa.
0:05:10 > 0:05:16It might be, "Can you send me £30 to charge my mobile phone so that I can ring you?"
0:05:16 > 0:05:17But it escalates.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Sure enough, following the scammer's text book to a T,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Nelson caught Marie off-guard one day.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26He said he was really down.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30That he and fellow soldiers were unable to get into their bank accounts
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and that Marie could sort this out if she could just send him some money.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35I kind of could see where it was headed
0:05:35 > 0:05:39so I tried to divert as much as I could by saying,
0:05:39 > 0:05:45"The army can't leave you guys without being able to access your money.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47"They should give you money."
0:05:47 > 0:05:54"No, they're not. You don't understand. We're in the middle of a war zone here."
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Trust was a big issue in our conversations that he kept bringing up.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01"You've got to trust me." "Don't you trust me?"
0:06:01 > 0:06:03"Why don't you trust me?"
0:06:03 > 0:06:07I felt like I was backed in a corner. I was badly financially off.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I thought, "What do I do?
0:06:11 > 0:06:13I can't leave him."
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Eventually, Marie caved in and sent £100 for Nelson to pick up
0:06:17 > 0:06:21through the Western Union cash transfer service.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I thought, "Right, this will be it."
0:06:24 > 0:06:30If I didn't hear from him again, after this money, then I knew
0:06:30 > 0:06:32that that's what it was.
0:06:32 > 0:06:38So, in a weird way, you sending him money was a test of your trust in him?
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Yes, that's exactly how I'd describe it to someone.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Nelson now had Marie where he wanted her.
0:06:45 > 0:06:51With the promise of more money, he wasn't going anywhere. He called back, full of gratitude.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Marie started to believe that this was the real deal.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00I told my mum. For the first time in any relationship I've ever had,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04she was excited. I think my mum wanted to believe this was happening.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07It had happened for my parents.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11They were engaged within three weeks and have been married for 35 years.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14So you looked at your parents' relationship and thought,
0:07:14 > 0:07:19- "It's not so crazy, because it worked for them."- Yeah.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Another week went by. Nelson decided it was time to ramp up this scam.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27He told Marie he wanted to come and see her.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31But there was one teeny-weeny catch.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35He asked Marie to send £700 to pay for his plane ticket.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37This was crunch time.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41I said, "I haven't got that kind of money. I just don't."
0:07:41 > 0:07:44"You need to understand it's a lot of money.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48"I'm worried and scared about sending this kind of money."
0:07:48 > 0:07:54So I stopped direct debits. I stopped any action in or out of my bank account.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56I stopped everything.
0:07:56 > 0:08:03I went and drew the money out. Went down to Western Union,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Even the lady at Western Union said to me,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09"Are you OK with sending this?" And I went, "I'm not.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12"I'm not OK with it. It's a lot of money."
0:08:12 > 0:08:16And then I thought, he'll do a runner, surely after that.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18But he didn't. He was still there.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23And he got closer to booking. Said he'd booked his ticket.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27To prove his commitment, Nelson even sent through
0:08:27 > 0:08:30a supposed confirmation of his flight details.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34But in an unbelievably cruel trick
0:08:34 > 0:08:37used by scammers to raise the stakes,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Marie received some shocking news.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44I got a text message at 11 o'clock at night
0:08:44 > 0:08:48to say that he'd been in a really bad accident
0:08:48 > 0:08:53and that he was in critical condition.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55That's a massive shock.
0:08:55 > 0:08:56I couldn't talk.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01I was just frantically trying to get the internet up
0:09:01 > 0:09:05to get phone numbers for this Nigerian hospital to ring
0:09:05 > 0:09:08and trying to find numbers for the American army
0:09:08 > 0:09:10and I was just frantic.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14When she finally got hold of them,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17the American army gave her the hard facts.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19They had no record of her soldier Nelson.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21He simply didn't exist.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Marie was starting to realise she'd been tricked.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29But the people behind this elaborate scam weren't about to give up.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Sometimes these people will say, "Yes, I'm sorry about that,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37"it was a fraud and I'm not that American soldier.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39"I am this person but I'm very poor.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42But actually, I do really love you."
0:09:42 > 0:09:46And they say, "See - he really does like me."
0:09:46 > 0:09:49And you think, "Please, don't do this! That's not right."
0:09:50 > 0:09:56A man calling himself Paul and claiming to be Nelson's doctor in the critical care ward,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00started sending texts to Marie throughout the night.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04When he rang in the morning, she heard a familiar voice at the end of the line.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I recognised the guy's voice
0:10:07 > 0:10:11to be like a Mexican accent,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13but no American accent.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Yes, it was our conman, still trying it on.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Still pretending to be a doctor,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21he emailed asking for money to help with treatment costs.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24But for Marie, the penny had well and truly dropped.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26There was no doctor.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31And there wasn't, and never had been, a soldier called Nelson who loved her.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Marie was conned out of £800, but she's not alone.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Others have been stung for much higher amounts by romance scams.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44We have had a victim that's lost
0:10:44 > 0:10:46nearly a quarter of a million pounds.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50The real perpetrators can be anywhere.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55They are sitting at the end of a laptop plugged into a Wi-Fi system.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59We have managed to devise methods where we can intercept
0:10:59 > 0:11:02the links between the criminal and victim.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05½But for the victims of these robbing Romeos, such as Marie,
0:11:05 > 0:11:11it's the emotional cost rather than the money that's hardest to bear.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16You feel like you've let people down.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19You've let your family down.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23When my mum found out, she was devastated.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27And she...
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- Sorry.- Marie, you haven't done anything wrong. You know that?
0:11:35 > 0:11:37All you've done is trust somebody
0:11:37 > 0:11:42because their business, and it's a horrible, cruel business,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44is to gain people's trust
0:11:44 > 0:11:46because they're very good at it.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48He was!
0:11:48 > 0:11:50And you're so lovely!
0:11:50 > 0:11:54There's no reason why you shouldn't have a great fella
0:11:54 > 0:11:59at some point. This is nothing to do with that. You know?
0:11:59 > 0:12:00It's all right.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07So how can you avoid being suckered into the world of romance scams?
0:12:07 > 0:12:11The first thing I say to anybody in anything like this,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15I would say, number one, "Don't send any money."
0:12:15 > 0:12:19It may sound obvious, but no matter how much these people tug at your heartstrings,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23how much it feels like a real connection, they only want one thing.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Secondly, never give your own details out.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31That means mobile phone number, address and email.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35Also check your privacy settings when using sites like Facebook.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Many dating websites actually look for scams,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42but they only see what's happening on their own site.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45So be wary if someone wants to chat elsewhere. To repeat...
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Third, don't send any money.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I know it was number one, but it's that important!
0:12:56 > 0:12:59No. No!
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Junk mail!
0:13:01 > 0:13:04I mean, it may be annoying, but mostly it's harmless.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08But then there's scam mail, completely different.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10In one year in the UK alone,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14we got scammed out of £3.5 billion thanks to scam mail.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18And this is how it typically works.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23A letter comes through the door with exciting news you've won a huge cash prize.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27The letter suggests all you need to do is pay a small fee and you'll receive your winnings.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30So you pay the fee but your cash prize never comes.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Instead, the scammers will just send you more and more letters.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Scam mail, or mass marketing fraud as it's also known,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43is often targeted at elderly people.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45The effects can be all-consuming.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50These shocking images were filmed by Marilyn Baldwin.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Her mother Jessica was tormented by scam mail for five years.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58This distressing footage shows her in the grip of the scam.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02She received a letter telling her she'd won a competition.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05All she had to do to claim it was send off a small fee.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09and basically she got bombarded with scam mail.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11The scam mail started to increase
0:14:11 > 0:14:15until probably about a year down the line,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18or maybe not even that, she was getting around 30 pieces a day.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The house started filling up with scam mail. It was everywhere -
0:14:21 > 0:14:24cupboards, drawers, the shed.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Under the bed. Everywhere.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30Marilyn wanted people to see this footage
0:14:30 > 0:14:33to show the devastating impact scam mail can have.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57We tried to stop her and explained that this mail wasn't genuine.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00But she just couldn't see it. It was almost like they'd trapped her.
0:15:00 > 0:15:06She was in this fictitious world that they'd created with the mail.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11She'd got this air about her that, "I've won the money and it's just
0:15:11 > 0:15:14"a matter of time before it comes."
0:15:14 > 0:15:17She actually thought she was rich, in a strange way,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20even though she hadn't received anything.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Jessica remained under the spell of the scam artists
0:15:23 > 0:15:27until just before she died in 2007.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32When my mum was going through this I would have gladly given them the house, everything.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35They could have taken everything, just to get my mother back.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38They stole her from me.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42At the time of her mother's problem, Marilyn didn't know who to turn to.
0:15:42 > 0:15:48Suspecting the issue was far more widespread than being reported, she started the Think Jessica campaign.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52She's helped to set up events across the country to let people know.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55These criminals are sneaking in through the letterbox.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59There are elderly people behind closed doors
0:15:59 > 0:16:03being attacked and being mugged every day.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Mass marketing fraud is a nationwide problem.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12In Portsmouth, Trading Standards Officers Laura Small and Holly Shelbourne
0:16:12 > 0:16:16recently seized a huge haul of scam mail which they're now trying to wade through.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20These two boxes here are completely unsorted mail.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23The other boxes are sorted into categories.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25Sifting through the mail revealed the devious methods used to
0:16:25 > 0:16:29relieve people of their cash.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32It's been checked and verified by the NLC disbursement officer.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33So there is a sense of authority,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36you don't think that is someone you shouldn't trust.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Anything that you open, you think, oh, I have won!
0:16:39 > 0:16:41A prize certificate,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43so straightaway you get this mind-dazzling amount of money,
0:16:43 > 0:16:45£7 million.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49- Your name is in lights. - Most of them will be time-deadlined as well, so "urgent".
0:16:49 > 0:16:50"You've got four days to reply."
0:16:50 > 0:16:54It takes away your thought processes and you are more likely
0:16:54 > 0:16:57to react quite quickly and not consult with your friends or family.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00You know, just clever. Really, really clever.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05All these boxes were found in one private house
0:17:05 > 0:17:08belonging to a pensioner called Mrs Knox.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14When it comes to mass marketing scams, most of our victims are socially isolated.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Unfortunately, they don't have friends or family visiting every day.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23It's just carers come to see them. That's when they fall through the net.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28They can't check with anybody to make sure they're not replying to things they shouldn't be.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32When Laura and Holly first visited Mrs Knox's home,
0:17:32 > 0:17:33they were stunned at what they saw.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39As soon as we walked into the house, you couldn't get in the hallway
0:17:39 > 0:17:41because they were all to the right-hand side.
0:17:41 > 0:17:47She could no longer get her shopping trolley down there, which is her walking aid.
0:17:47 > 0:17:54I've never won anything in my life, and the fact that I was told I'd won something,
0:17:54 > 0:17:59I thought, "Oh, great! It's going to help me out of a mess."
0:17:59 > 0:18:03- So you were in need of the money, weren't you?- I was in need of it. - Yes.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07They said to me something about you've won so much money.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12"If you send a bit to cover the costs of dealing with it,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- "we'll send you your money."- OK.
0:18:14 > 0:18:20Unfortunately they didn't, not unless they used invisible cheques, because I never saw them!
0:18:20 > 0:18:21Oh, dear!
0:18:21 > 0:18:24It's estimated that in the past few years,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Mrs Knox has given away £2,000 to the scammers.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32I've got my pension and nothing else.
0:18:32 > 0:18:38To think I chucked away the money when I badly needed it...
0:18:40 > 0:18:42I'm a right sucker that way!
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Fortunately, Laura and Holly have got to Mrs Knox
0:18:47 > 0:18:48in time to make a difference.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51To solve Mrs Knox' scam mail problem,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54we signed her to the Mail Preference Service and Telephone Preference Service.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59They are like filtering systems that help filter through the junk mail
0:18:59 > 0:19:02that comes through and junk telephone calls as well.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The thing about investigating it is finding out where they're from
0:19:05 > 0:19:07and who are sending the mailings.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10There are many different perpetrators.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15They don't all come from one person. There are thousands of companies.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Some of the letters sent to Jessica and to Mrs Knox
0:19:19 > 0:19:21were blatant examples of illegal scam mail.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24But it's not always so clear cut.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29There are companies that send out mass marketing letters that use clever wording and small print
0:19:29 > 0:19:32to try and stay on the right side of the law.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36In 2009, a lady called Doreen was sent this letter
0:19:36 > 0:19:40by a firm called UK Incentives and Promotions Ltd.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43At first glance, it could have given the impression
0:19:43 > 0:19:46that she'd won £625,000,
0:19:46 > 0:19:53by using words like confirmed, guaranteed and sole recipient.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58But on closer inspection, the letter was simply inviting Doreen to enter a prize draw
0:19:58 > 0:20:00and there was no guarantee of winning anything.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05Doreen decided to report it to East Sussex Trading Standards Officer Tom Cook.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09What made you report this to us in the first place?
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Quite honestly, it was too good to be true.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18What about this? Here it says they've been conducting a nationwide search
0:20:18 > 0:20:21and you have been identified. Lucky you(!)
0:20:21 > 0:20:28It's not a mistake. You are confirmed and guaranteed to receive £625,000.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33To enter the prize, Doreen had to buy a £20 watch.
0:20:35 > 0:20:41She wasn't the sort of person to be taken in by this kind of misleading marketing.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45But she was reporting it to us because she was concerned
0:20:45 > 0:20:49about other people receiving a letter and falling for it and would be misled.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54And Tom agreed. He thought the letter was highly deceptive
0:20:54 > 0:20:58and designed to confuse people into buying the £20 watch.
0:20:58 > 0:21:03He began investigating and found that unlike many mass-marketing firms
0:21:03 > 0:21:09who are based abroad, UK Incentives and Promotions Ltd were in Stockport near Manchester.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12We contacted the local Trading Standards.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15They had been in contact with the company.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20But they had not been able to prevent a second wave of letters being sent out.
0:21:20 > 0:21:26The company had already been warned about the wording of their letters
0:21:26 > 0:21:30and although they'd made some changes, the mail was still highly misleading.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Tom decided he'd try to get them in court.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39But weeks into the investigation, the company went into liquidation,
0:21:39 > 0:21:44owing £280,000 - mostly to the tax man.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48The company was our initial target, if you like.
0:21:48 > 0:21:54They disappeared, so we were left with going after individuals.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Tom continued pursuing two of the key figures involved with the business,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01the company director and the marketing manager.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06He wrote letters to the two of them asking them to stop sending out misleading and deceptive mail.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09The company director replied and agreed to Tom's demands.
0:22:11 > 0:22:17What we hadn't got was the marketing manager. He hadn't responded in a similar way.
0:22:17 > 0:22:23So he had not, at this point, told us he'd stop dealing with this type of letter.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28So in November 2009 they took the marketing manager to court and won.
0:22:28 > 0:22:33He was told to sign a general undertaking that he would stop sending out misleading material
0:22:33 > 0:22:35for a minimum of one year.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39It was Doreen's original complaint about the company's scam letter
0:22:39 > 0:22:41that sparked the investigation.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42Well done, Doreen!
0:22:42 > 0:22:46If she'd replied, this is what her £20 would have got her.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- There.- Oh, dear!- That is what they were selling you.
0:22:49 > 0:22:54With the size of my bone structure, I'd be lucky if it went round my wrist!
0:22:54 > 0:22:56It's not a particularly nice watch.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Tom also gives her the good news.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03This is the outcome. They've given a promise to the court
0:23:03 > 0:23:07that they will obey the law, and they understand if they don't,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09they could go to prison.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14We asked representatives of UK Incentives and Promotions Ltd
0:23:14 > 0:23:18to comment, and this is what their former marketing manager had to say.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40The types of letters received by Jessica and Mrs Knox from foreign countries were deceptive.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Some could amount to fraud.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46This is being taken ever more seriously.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49The Metropolitan Police has set up a special unit, Operation Sterling,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52to deal solely with this type of crime,
0:23:52 > 0:23:53both at home and abroad.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57It is difficult, but it's not impossible.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01We're working with law enforcement agencies throughout the world
0:24:01 > 0:24:05and also postal providers throughout the world
0:24:05 > 0:24:07and we're having significant successes.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Earlier this year, we undertook some enforcement activity
0:24:11 > 0:24:17which had a major impact reducing some of those letters to victims
0:24:17 > 0:24:19by two-thirds.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21It's a very long road.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24We've turned a corner, but we're not at the end of the road.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26This needs to be ongoing.
0:24:26 > 0:24:36For more information about the Mail and Telephone Preference Service, and advice about scams, go to:
0:24:41 > 0:24:47Scammers are constantly coming up with new and clever ways to get at our cash.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51So it's important to know what are the latest scams out there
0:24:51 > 0:24:52that could affect you.
0:24:52 > 0:24:59Today, we're looking at scams where conmen pretend to be from a government department.
0:24:59 > 0:25:00Cheeky little tinkers!
0:25:04 > 0:25:10We've got fraud reports from people pretending to be from HMRC, Ministry of Justice officials.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13One scam we've seen is saying that you're a model citizen
0:25:13 > 0:25:15and you're to be rewarded
0:25:15 > 0:25:17for the good life you're living.
0:25:17 > 0:25:18I've always said that.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23As a result, you're entitled to a £500 reward for your good service.
0:25:23 > 0:25:30- About right.- "We can secure this. We're acting on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
0:25:30 > 0:25:37"Please pay us £50 now and we will send you this money you're entitled to."
0:25:37 > 0:25:41However nice you are, there is no such thing as a good citizen award
0:25:41 > 0:25:44or any other award from the Ministry of Justice.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47Maybe there should be, but there isn't. Sorry, it's a scam.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51- HMRC, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.- Yes.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53How does that scam work?
0:25:53 > 0:25:57The same principles. They are saying you've overpaid your taxes.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59"We have looked into this
0:25:59 > 0:26:06"and we've determined that you're entitled to a tax rebate of £5,000.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08"All we need is an administration fee."
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Anyone who's ever had any dealings with HMRC
0:26:11 > 0:26:14will know you don't get anything genuinely from them.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19Again, it would be wrong to say you don't get things back.
0:26:19 > 0:26:25There are accountants who get money back for people and individuals get money back.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29We can all overpay our taxes. But the point is,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33HMRC deal with you directly. They don't do it through an agent.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37And they certainly don't ask for fees in advance.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40If you are entitled to a refund,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42HMRC will never call or email you.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46They'll notify you with an official letter through the post.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49You can be sure that conmen and fraudsters
0:26:49 > 0:26:53will keep coming up with new and sophisticated ways of getting your cash.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57But armed with a bit of knowledge, you can stay one step ahead.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Stay safe. See you next time.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd