SCAM victims from Swindon have lost tens of thousands of pounds from fraudsters intent on tricking them into handing over bank details and life savings.

Determined to stem the flow of horror stories, trading standards officers have launched a fresh campaign to help people wise-up to the tactics used by the fraudsters.

Carla Baker, an officer in Swindon Borough Council’s trading standards team, said: “It’s about protecting people from scams.

"We work together across the south west and we’ve produced these new leaflets to update the message and make sure everybody’s aware of the latest scams.

“Online scams are probably the biggest ones around. We were at a bank on Monday talking to people and everybody we spoke to said they’re getting email and phone scams.

“This is about warning people to protect their personal details.

"Most of the online scams are about phishing, so this campaign is about reminding people to stay conscious of that and remembering the bank won’t be emailing or phoning you asking for details like your pin number. Don’t fall for it.”

Among recent scams doing the rounds are emails purporting to be from TV Licensing asking people to hand over their bank details to receive a refund and calls supposedly from HMRC either offering a tax rebate or demanding the payment of outstanding tax.

Ms Baker said they knew of Swindon people who had also been tricked into handing over “tens of thousands of pounds” to pension scammers. The schemes claim to be able to swell your pension pot, but in reality leave the unlucky investors with nothing.

“Invariably, the scammers will try to panic people into making a rushed decision. Nobody who falls for a scam is stupid. Everybody knows we shouldn’t pass on our details, but these scams create a panic and a sense of urgency,” Ms Baker said.

“One of the things they’ll do is call and say the person’s money is at risk and they need to transfer it into a ‘safe’ account and bank staff are suspected of being ‘in on it’ because they’re part of the scam.

“That panics people into thinking they’re going to lose their life savings and makes them not trust the people they should be trusting: the bank staff. It takes away that option of a reality check – contacting the bank – and it panics people into making moves they tell us afterwards they never thought they’d make.

“The most important thing for them to do is not panic and don’t do what the suspected scammers are asking them to do straightaway.”

Anyone who fears they have been scammed should contact police on 101 or Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040.