Northern Ireland victims of mailing scam offered compensation
- Published
US-based fraudsters targeted vulnerable people with mailings offering cash prizes
Victims of an international mail marketing scam from Northern Ireland are set to receive compensation after a four-year investigation.
US-based fraudsters targeted vulnerable people with mailings offering cash prizes for an upfront fee ranging from £25 to £40.
It is estimated that more than £10,000 will now be returned to over 65 victims of the scam from Northern Ireland.
The investigation was led by the US Federal Trade Commission.
The commission worked alongside National Trading Standards (NTS) to identify the fraudsters who targeted UK households with more than seven million mailings in the four years from 2014.
The victims were older people living alone or those with long-term health conditions.
They were offered alleged cash wins and "guaranteed" cash prize pay-outs.
Many victims paid fees, sometimes several times, before realising there was no prize.
The Federal Trade Commission took action against those involved in the scam in 2018 and $25m (£22m) was made available to compensate victims around the world.
The compensation scheme will be the first across international borders in the UK.
The money will be paid using preloaded cards which can be spent in shops or paid into bank accounts.
The cards have been distributed to Trading Standards Service NI and the roll-out is expecting to begin on Monday 10 October.
But there are warnings some scammers could use the compensation rollout to further target victims.
"We have been advised that scammers are already jumping on the bandwagon by impersonating Trading Standards Officers in an attempt to further scam victims," Trading Standards Service NI enforcement officer, Yasmin Johnstone said.
"Trading Standards Service may call at your property unexpectedly to return funds however we will never call without appropriate ID, put pressure on you, mind if you say no, object to visiting another time or ask you for money."