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No one likes to feel that they have wasted or, even worse, been conned out of their money. Unfortunately, there are plenty of situations in which individuals acting in good faith can find that they have come off worse from a transaction.
Download free information on avoiding scams (106 KB)
Download free information on staying safe (670 KB)
We use the word ‘scam’ to indicate a dishonest or fraudulent scheme designed to cheat the purchaser. This can apply to buying products or services, making investments or becoming involved in apparently failsafe business propositions.
You can avoid a lot of scams and bad purchases if you know what to look for.
A scam can mean anything from criminal fraud to sharp, but legal, selling practices. The question ‘is it legal?’ is perhaps less relevant than ‘can I get my money back?’. Whether the scheme was legal or illegal, the answer is likely to be no. Even well-known companies may direct you to the small print if you later query your position. Other, less reputable sellers may simply disappear. Depending on the circumstances, police or Trading Standards are more likely to try to prevent future scams than recover money that has been lost.
If an exciting offer seems too good to be true, think about the following warning signs and ask yourself if it is a scam:
Always stop, think and be sceptical before signing anything or handing over any money.
If the worst happens and you are a victim of a scam, or if you want advice on how to protect yourself, contact Action Fraud Tel: 0300 123 2040 (national rate) for help (See 'Useful website').
£9.99 - paperback978-086242-434-3'How to avoid scams' is an Age UK publication with advice on how to spot a wide range of scams, and what to do if you've been caught out.To order call Age UK Advice on 0800 169 65 65
Download information on being money smart (PDF 260 KB)
Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting centre. They offer advice if you’ve been the victim of a scam or identity theft.
Downloads
A download is a document (like a research report, a leaflet, or an application form) that can be transferred from our website to your computer. You can download a file, view it on your screen, print it, or save it to your computer.
PDF stands for ‘portable document format’.
Most downloads on this website are PDFs. We use this format to ensure that the document looks the same on everyone’s computer (website pages, by contrast, appear differently depending on how people have got their computer set up).
Computers use a program called Adobe Acrobat Reader to download PDFs. If you try clicking on a link to download a PDF and it doesn’t work, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.
The process is quite straightforward and is free.
PDFs cannot be changed. If you need to be able to type into a downloaded document (for example, if we are offering a letter template that you need to put your name on) we will provide it as a Microsoft Word document rather than a PDF. You can then download it, type into it and save it to your computer.
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Inside this window (below all your web browser menus), there will be a toolbar with options for you to print or save the document.
Close the browser window to return to the Age UK website.
We have made every effort to make our PDFs accessible to screen readers. Here is an overview of your accessibility options available in Acrobat Reader. Please ensure that you have downloaded the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Reader website to ensure that they are included in your version of the programme.
You can use Adobe Reader to read a PDF out loud with the following shortcut keys:
You can also convert a PDF into a web page by following these steps:
You can convert a PDF document into a text file for use with other software and hardware such as Braille printers by opening the PDF and choosing ‘Save as text’ from the File menu.
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