SCAM victims in Monmouthshire handed over a total of at least £230,000 to criminals last year – although the real figure could be much higher – say Trading Standards officers in the county.

There are nearly five times as many reported frauds in Monmouthshire than the national average, prompting the county to be dubbed ’scam central’.

Gloucestershire was also named as a fraud hotspot in an analysis by consumer watchdog Which?

Monmouthshire Trading Standards is calling on anyone with suspicions about potential scams to contact them.

Monmouthshire County Council has signed up to a scheme which works with Royal Mail staff to identify scam mail and potential victims.

Trading standards officers in the county have also trained members of the council protection of vulnerable adults service to spot potential victims – and that team has already highlighted a number of people who may be at risk.

Trading Standards officers visited 92 people who had responded to junk mail or had bought items by mail order and whose names were on a list obtained by the Metropolitan Police.

A further seven ’priority’ cases came from post intercepted at a mail forwarding company by the National Trading Standards Scams Team, most of which contained cheques or cash.

Among them were four cheques totalling £120 written by a Monmouthshire resident in the space of three days while others contained personal and banking details.

The money was returned to the victims by Trading Standards who gave advice about not being defrauded.

Many of these people were receiving up 30 items of mail a day and one of them also had more than £300 taken from their account for health supplements they had not ordered.

On average it was estimated that people in the priority group had lost around £2,150 each although it could be a lot higher as some were unsure how long they had been sending money or were too embarrassed to admit how much they had handed over.

An analysis by consumer watchdog Which? Showed Monmouthshire residents were at risk from multiple types of fraud. There are some 10.2 reports per 10,000 people in the county compared with a national average of 2.3.

Age Concern Cymru has said Monmouthshire is at particular risk because of its older population and associated high frequency of dementia.

But Trading Standards officers emphasise that victims come from all walks of life.

Service leader Gareth Walters said: “Our work to date has shown that victims come from all walks of life – those with financial stability as well as those without and from different backgrounds, including retired police officers.

“The team and I are keen to ensure that this message is shared and spread to all residents, so any opportunity to speak with individuals or groups in Monmouthshire would be welcomed.

“If you, or anyone else, have any concerns please contact us.  All cases are handled in the strictest confidence but the intelligence is vital to enable us or national regulators to bring criminal sanctions and ensure that those behind the scams are prevented from creating further misery.”

He said people should contact the Citizens’ Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06 for details.

According to the Which? Analysis Gloucestershire people were particularly at risk from fake computer service calls where they are persuaded to install malicious software on their machines.