Consumers warned over EU scams

25 February 2010

UK consumers are being warned that "scamsters" across the European Union are on the increase.

The UK European Consumer Centre (UK ECC) said that complaints about misleading practices, such as fake lotteries and investment schemes, tripled in a year.

Grievances rose 340% last year, with the centre receiving just over 500 complaints in 2009 compared to 147 the previous year.

They involved scams ranging from recreational and cultural services, car rentals, overseas car purchases, holiday clubs and timeshares.

UK consumers lose £3.5 billion to scams every year, figures from the Office of Fair Trading revealed.

UKECC manager Jed Mayatt said: "We're sure that consumers understand that scams do not just emanate from within the UK and that scamsters are prevalent from within the EU too.

"But it's important for them to know that misleading practices appear to be on the increase. They should be aware of the warning signs."

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