One in 10 fall foul of mass marketing scams

ONE in 10 adults in Britain has been the victim of mass marketing fraud, it was revealed yesterday.

More than 3.2 million people have handed over cash after being approached by scammers by email, letter or telephone. The total cost of such scams is more than £3.5 billion every year, according to the Office of Fair Trading.

The figures were revealed as the Serious Organised Crime Agency announced it has set its sights on the organised criminal gangs behind these frauds in Britain and abroad. Officials said they have seized fake cheques, postal orders and bank drafts worth more than £8 million (€11.5m).