Scam squad targets rogue traders

Rogue traders who prey on vulnerable people in the Yorkshire and Humber region will be pursued by a special squad of trading standards officers.

The 'scambusters' team has been set up with £750,000 government funding and is one of nine teams operating nationally.

Based in York, the officers will cover 14 local authorities regionally and concentrate on the most serious scams.

Pilot schemes which have run elsewhere are estimated to have saved consumers about £3m.

Cross-border scams

The teams will work alongside the councils and police to target rogue traders, door-to-door sales people and counterfeiters.

A cross-border approach has been adopted because councils have found larger scams tend to work across local authority boundaries.

Councillor Len Foster, deputy leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: "Rogue traders cause misery to residents and give honest businesses a bad name.

"By working together as a region-wide force, we hope to bring these con men to justice for the benefit of everyone."