Warning over cash postal scams

Residents in a County Durham town are being inundated with letters from fraudsters trying to get them caught up in money scams.

Darlington Trading Standards officers said local people had been asked to claim a total of £78m in fake winnings.

During Operation Scamnasty, residents were asked to hand in any unsolicited mail or other evidence of scams.

The most common cons were psychics offering predictions or letters claiming a win on the Spanish lottery.

Andy Scott, cabinet member for health and leisure at Darlington County Council, said: "The huge range of mailings uncovered by the campaign shows that con artists use different techniques.

"They want to target different people and so we should all be on our guard."