VOLUNTEERS across Oxfordshire are fighting a grassroots campaign against scammers and fraudsters.

The county council is backing Friends Against Scams, a national scheme run by the country’s trading standards services, which aims to highlight the scale of the problem by getting communities and the nation talking about scams.

It also wants to prevent people from becoming or continuing to be a scam victim by providing more adequate support.

Friends Against Scams works on several levels.

It has a website which gives detailed information on the huge variety of scams as well as encouraging visitors to take a more active role.

You can become a ‘friend’ by completing an online course or build up to become a SCAMbassador – giving talks to local groups and organisations - after receiving further face-to-face training by Oxfordshire County Council’s own Trading Standards Service.

One of the county’s SCAMbassador’s is community banker James Ferriman, who works in NatWest branches.

He said: “I see a lot of people who have found themselves at the wrong end of scams and the effects can be devastating.

“And it’s not just old people who are at risk I’ve seen a lot of younger people get caught out and they come from all walks of life.”

For further information visit the Friends Against Scams website or call 03454 04 05 06 to report a suspected fraud.