Trading Standards bosses say people in Oxfordshire are being caught for millions of pounds by postal scams every year.

Ian Marriott, group manager for Oxfordshire Trading Standards, said although about 30,000 people in the county were falling victim to fraudsters, only two or three cases were being reported.

The letters suggest people have won competitions in countries such as Canada, but need to send a £22 deposit to secure the winnings.

Anyone who has responded would then receive another letter asking for a one per cent tax charge.

Mr Marriott said: “Reports suggest around 30,000 people are victims of scams in Oxfordshire every year.

“It results in more than £2m going out of the county.

“And this is a totally under-reported crime. We get about two or three calls reporting it every year, and that’s usually the children of victims.”

He added: “People are just too embarrassed to hold their hands up and say they have been scammed.

“And there are others who are still convinced it is genuine.”

The population of Oxfordshire is about 635,500 and the Office of Fair Trading this week announced 30,000 people, or nearly one in 20 had been scammed in the last year alone.

It also revealed that 39 per cent of respondents who had been duped in the last 12 months did not report it to the authorities.

Mr Marriott said: “The worst case I have ever seen in Oxfordshire was one man who had lost more than £100,000. People are just convinced that they have won a lot of money.

“And the scammers share your name with other agencies, so some people are getting dozens of letters every day through the post.”

“It is a pretty nasty crime. The one common factor is that victims tend to be older people.

“And it is not that they are senile, it is because they grew up in an era where if you got an official letter, you took it at face value, and thought ‘it must be from someone official if they’ve bothered to write to me’.

“Like everyone else, I thought these people must be crazy, but they are totally ordinary people that are dragged into it.”

Thames Valley Police spokesman Victoria Bradley said: “The people who commit these crimes target vulnerable people who may be more trustworthy.

“It causes a lot of distress to victims and will not be tolerated in Oxfordshire.”

  • Anyone who thinks they have been scammed can phone Oxfordshire Trading Standards on 084505 10845 or Thames Valley Police on 08458 505505