VICTIMS of postal scams have spoken of falling foul to fraudsters as part of an awareness campaign.
The ScamwiseNI Partnership campaign comes as the Consumer Council revealed one in three people have received scam mail.
About 80 per cent ignore the scam attempt or throw the post away. As those affected are unlikely to report it to police, the ScamwiseNI Partnership has joined forces with Royal Mail.
The campaign will include radio, outdoor and social media advertisements to raise awareness of the postal scams and Royal Mail's attempts to reduce the impact on its customers.
Audrey Hamilton was scammed out of £14,000 over a period of 10 to 12 years. Her son Raymond took part in a short film explaining how he believes his mum's details were circulated after she sent for a free gift. He spoke of the emotional and financial impact of the crime.
"It wasn't a vast amount, it was a small £20 here and £10 there, but they all added up. Towards the end my mum sent that much money that she couldn't really afford to eat," he said.
"There was a constant drip, drip, drip. Then other ones would get your account details, clear the lot and you'd never hear of them again. There was a vast array of people willing to take advantage of a vulnerable person."
Since November 2016 Royal Mail has impounded more than 3,000,000 suspected pieces of scam mail. It has also set up a helpline, email and Freepost address to provide information and for customers to report concerns.
For more information visit www.nidirect.gov.uk/scamwiseni.
