Crime | Posted on October 20th, 2025 | return to news

Scam warning for Dorset residents

One in 10 people in the South West were stung by scams in the past year, according to Citizens Advice.

Citizens Advice have issued a warning to Dorset residents, after new research revealed 10 per cent of people across the South West were caught out by a scam in the past year.

As part of its annual Scams Awareness campaign, the charity is highlighting the many ways people are being duped by scammers and is offering its top tips on how to prevent being caught out.

Across the UK, more than seven million are estimated to have fallen victim to a scam in the past 12 months.

The most common scams involved online shopping. According to the research, more than a quarter of those affected (26 per cent) were affected by fake websites or bought counterfeit or non-existent products.

The other top scams people fell for included: investment scams (18 per cent), such as ‘get rich quick’ schemes; 18 percent were affected by financial scams including bank and card fraud and fake loans; and 16 per cent were tricked by ‘need help’ messages seemingly from friends and family who needed money urgently.

Ahead of Christmas and Black Friday sales, Citizens Advice is urging the public to be careful when shopping online.

Rovarn Wickremasinghe, CEO of Bridport and District Citizens Advice, said: “Opportunistic scammers are preying on hard times to trick people into handing over their cash, and their tactics are getting harder to spot.

“Anyone can be scammed and the impact can be devastating – leaving people not only out of pocket, but in some cases unable to go about their daily lives.

“As scammers get ever more sophisticated it’s so important to all work together to raise awareness, report scams and share our experiences to help protect ourselves from their tricks.”

The charity also shared advice on what to look out for. Something might be a scam if:

Someone you don’t know contacts you unexpectedly, or you’re asked to transfer money quickly
You’re being asked to share personal or security information like passwords, PINs or codes
You suspect you’re not dealing with a real company, for example there’s no postal address
You’ve been asked to pay in an unusual way – paying by debit or credit card gives you extra protection if things go wrong
The golden rule is if something seems too good to be true or doesn’t feel right it might be a scam, so take a moment and get advice

If you become the victim of a scam, you are advised to: contact your bank or card provider immediaty if you’ve handed over financial information or made a payment; report the scam to Action Fraud on 0300 123 204; and speak to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service for help with what to do next on 0808 223 1133.