Gloucestershire victims of US scam to have money returned

Victims of a postal scam are set to receive compensation after action was taken against the fraudsters.

A total of 41 people from Gloucestershire lost money to an international, mass-marketing scam based in Kansas in the United States.

Action was taken against the offenders to forfeit cash and assets and almost £8,000 can now be handed back.

The mail was sent to vulnerable people, including those living alone or with long-term health conditions.

Victims were asked to pay an upfront fee of between £25 and £40 for "guaranteed" cash-prizes, before later realising there was no prize to be won.

Some had paid the fee several times and there were a total of 3,500 victims across the UK.

One person was defrauded of nearly £2,000.

Three people in Gloucestershire have had cheques worth a total of £535 returned after their payments were intercepted before reaching the US.

A four-year investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission and National Trading Standards discovered the source of the mail was a criminal enterprise in Kansas that had been targeting UK households with scam mail.

Gloucestershire County Council trading standards department said it was now able to return the money recovered from the fraudsters.

Councillor Dave Norman, cabinet member for trading standards, said: "Falling victim to a scam is a distressing experience so I'm delighted that the proceeds of crimes from these fraudsters can be used to compensate people in Gloucestershire.

"The investigation shows that wherever scammers are based, we will collaborate with our partners to ensure they are caught."

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]