It's estimated that mass marketing scams cause £3.5 billion worth of loss to UK consumers each year. Cornwall residents report hundreds of scams each year.
Whilst many scams will target the elderly and vulnerable, anyone can find themselves becoming a victim, no matter how careful you might try to be.
Many scams will originate from overseas. Making it almost impossible to identify and prosecute the people behind them. This makes education and awareness critical in preventing consumers losing money to the scammers.
To help in fight against scams, Cornwall Council is now offering a Scam Alert Text Service. The service will send text message warnings about any current scams that might be targeting Cornwall residents.
The text alert service will also give warnings about cold calling rogue traders, which may be relevant to a local area. These will provide information on what to look out for, and how to report any suspicious activity.
To sign up, all you need to do is to add your details to the form below. You will need to provide your name, address and mobile phone number. This information is only used in relation to the text alert service. Further information about the way in which your personal data is used and stored is available in our privacy notice. This can be found at the bottom of the page.
Data Protection
Cornwall Council, as the Data Controller, is committed to protecting your privacy. Any personal data you provide, or which we collect about you, will be stored securely. It will only used to send relevant scam/trading standards alerts to the mobile phone number that you have provided.
Your mobile phone number be will shared with ‘GOV.uk Notify’ (administered by the Cabinet Office) who are acting as data processor for the purpose of sending these text messages. This information is shared in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. Further information about the security of the ‘GOV.Uk Notify’ system can be found at https://www.notifications.service.gov.uk/features/security.
We will not use your information for any other purpose or give it to anyone else unless we are required to do so by law. For example, we have a duty to protect public funds so we may need to use the information held about you for the prevention and detection of fraud. This would require us to share it with other Council statutory services or organisations responsible for auditing or administering public funds. For more information visit www.cornwall.gov.uk/yourdata.
How long we keep your information
We will keep your information for as long as it is required to provide this text alert service. Once your information is no longer required, it will be destroyed securely and confidentially.
If you would like to discuss anything in this privacy notice, please contact:
Data Protection Officer
Data Protection Team
Cornwall Council
County Hall
Truro
TR1 3AY
Telephone: 01872 326424
Email: dataprotection@cornwall.gov.uk
If you wish to opt out of receiving scam alerts at any time, please email us at businesscompliance@cornwall.gov.uk. We will remove your information from our records. Alternatively, you can contact us 0300 1234 191.
To report a scam or get consumer advice
We ask that all scams or Trading Standards related complaints are reported through our partners at the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133. This ensures that scam and complaint information is captured on a national basis. They will then refer the matter to us in appropriate circumstances. If you do not require advice, but would simply like to report a concern, please email report-it@cornwall.gov.uk.
By submitting this form you are agreeing to the above Privacy Notice.
Please also see our Corporate Privacy Policy