Desperate son pleads for crack-down on scams

Now most of us know when a letter comes through the door if it is legit or if it is a scam.

We are always told if it is too good to be true then it probably is.

But of course the majority of us are not the targets of the scam - it is the elderley and the vulnerable.

82-year-old Kathleen Le Sueur has frittered away thousands of pounds in the hope of winning millions.

Her son Ian is desperate to stop her and others from wasting their cash.

Each month he thinks she sends around £200 off to con artists.

"It's come to a point now where I think the authorities have got to start looking into this," said Ian. "These things are obvious, you can see from the envelopes, so there has got to be something that the post office authorities can do, even a prescription service, you can do it with spam emails, you can do it with the internet, you can block things coming through. I mean I would happily pay to have these intercepted and pulped and put to a better cause than landing on our doorstep each day and a vulnerable old lady being conned into giving away her money."

Jersey Post say they are looking into what they can do to help.

But they have an obligation to deliver the mail and it's hard for them to choose what is scam mail and what isn't.

However the police advice is simple.

Diane Wheeler from the States of Jersey Police said: "If it sounds too good to be true, then please don't take their offer up, if you have never heard of the individual or company then do a bit more research to find out if they are a legitimate company."

Ian thinks there are many other people in the same position as his family and he is hoping they can work together to do something about it.

Until that happens he will keep watching over his mother's mail.

And if you are in a similar situation and want to join forces with Ian, you can on en830@jerseymail.co.uk or 741270.

For more information on scams and how to avoid them go to: www.jersey.police.uk or www.consumerfraudreporting.org
(from CTV)