DTI Cracks Down On Email, Text and Fax Scams

The Department Of Trade And Industry (DTI) has urged consumers to be on their guard against email, text and fax scams run by unscrupulous operators.

Leading the drive to crack down on these scams, Consumer Affairs Minister, Melanie Johnson, commented: “Every day people throughout the UK open their mail, turn on their computers or switch on their mobile phones to learn that they’ve won ‘an exciting prize’ in a draw, lottery or some other promotion, which is misleading and untrue.”

Johnson, who was speaking at the launch of National Consumer Week, added: “All too often people taken in by scams make the mistake of being too trusting and lose money as a result.”

She cited the example of a recent SMS promotion, where the message “I fancy you” was sent to mobile phone users inviting them to call a premium rate line to find out who the sender was. The message had actually been sent by the company in bulk and contained no information about the premium rate call charges.

Stricter rules on the spending of spam emails are set to be introduced next year under the directive on privacy and electronic communications. The new rules will require the prior consent of an individual before mail is sent.

According to the Independent Committee For The Supervision Of Standards Of Telephone Information Services (Icstis) complaints about unwanted text messages have “soared” over the last year (see Complaints About Unsolicited Text Messages Soar).

DTI: 020 7215 5000 www.dti.gov.uk

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