Cruel scammers are stealing money from 23,000 in West Yorkshire and why we must protect ourselves - the YEP Says

But unscrupulous scammers put paid to that leaving his nest egg bare. But he isn’t alone.

More than 23,000 frauds were reported in West Yorkshire in the year to March 2019, with the total losses to victims running to a staggering £33.6m.

But it is just the tip of the iceberg - it is thought that only five per cent of all fraud victims make a report to the authorities.

Many people choose not to report a fraud simply because they are too embarrassed that they fell for a scam.

And that is why today the Yorkshire Evening Post launches our Stop The Scammers campaign to raise awareness of scams and how to spot them so that our readers can better protect themselves, their friends and their families.

We’ll be promoting the work of organisations who bring the criminals involved to justice as well as those who are there to offer support and advice for those impacted.

The reality is anybody can be a victim.