National Scams Awareness Fortnight: October 2026

12^th – 25^th October is National Scams Awareness Fortnight; a joint public awareness campaign promoted by Citizens Advice, Trading Standards and others.

Though this year’s focus is on making people aware of the ‘trader scams’, we believe the breadth of scams operating across the country means you need to be prepared against all types of scams.

Scams come in all shapes and sizes, from subscription scams to dating scams to scams relating to financial investments, and many more. They can be in person or online. They can come via the post or over the phone. And, with AI, they keep evolving in their sophistication.

Everyone is vulnerable, without exception, and it only takes one scammer to empty a bank account. We know that some people are more vulnerable to scams than others and we always have to be on our toes to look out for friends, neighbours and family members.

There are many things you can do to spot, stop and report scams but the most important is to stay vigilant at all times and never be pressured into making spending decisions, or sharing personal information, by people or organisations you don’t know or trust.

If you feel you have come across a potential scam, been the victim of a scam, want to know more about scams in general, or want to get more personally involved in the fight against scams read the information below and see how you can make a positive contribution to fighting scammers.

To report a potential scam, call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133. If you think you have been scammed, call Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040. If you ever feel in immediate personal danger from a scammer call 999.

If you want to know more in general about how to spot, stop and report scams visit the Citizens Advicewebsite at www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/information/advice-on-scams/ or call us on 0808 250 5715.

To keep up with the latest scam warnings for Warwickshire sign up to Trading Standards scam alerts from Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards. Similarly, to keep abreast of scam warnings nationally visit the Which?website or visit the website of the National Trading Standards Scams Teamat www.nationaltradingstandards.uk/work-areas/scams-team/.

Both Age UK and Independent Age also provide excellent resources on scams awareness which can be found at, respectively, www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/scams-fraud/ and www.independentage.org/get-advice/money/scams.

Finally, if you want to be more active personally in the fight against scammers visit www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/ and see about becoming a ‘scam champion’.

There are a number of ways we can all be vulnerable to being scammed but there are an equal number of ways we can fight back. Remember, if it looks too good to be true it probably is. Don’t let scammers get you down - spot, stop and report scams.

Scams are often driven by ‘identity theft’ and ‘identity fraud’. To understand both better, and for more information on how to protect yourself from both, go to www.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/fa/fraud/personal-fraud/identity-fraud/ or www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/identity-fraud-and-identity-theft.

Be careful out there.

By Ed Hodson
Citizens Advice South Warwickshire - Citizens Advice working in partnership across Warwickshire