Knowsley Council is urging the public to beware of premium rate phone scams.
Throughout February, which is Scam Awareness Month, the Council is alerting the public to the common scams con artists could use to target them.
This week, Knowsley is warning the public of how scammers are using the premium rate phone lines to access their hard-earned cash.
Cllr Ken Keith, Knowsley’s Cabinet Member for Corporate and Customer Services, said: “Con artists often use 090 telephone numbers to carry out scams.
“You may receive a letter or a telephone call stating you have won a prize, a free gift, a sweepstake or a bargain holiday and asking you to call a premium rate line to claim it.
”In the majority of these instances, the only thing you will receive is a large bill for the telephone call. If you receive a letter, telephone call or text, stating you have won a prize, and you have not entered a competition, it is likely to be a scam.”
Knowsley Council is also taking part in Scamnesty (February 1 – 15). Special wheelie bins have been placed in all four of the Council’s
One Stop Shops, where members of the public can drop of the scam letters they have received in the post for further investigation.
The Office of Fair Trading believes around three million people in the UK lose a total of £3.5bn to scams every year.
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