Our columnist has her say on scams, parking prowess and potty-mouthed politicos - DON'T BE FOOLED

Scams are on the rise, so make sure you know what to look out for  So, this week I have had several very interesting messages from nubile young Russian ladies offering to send me free ‘modelling’  pictures.

Endless emails from every delivery service under the sun reminding me that I needed to pay X amount so they can deliver my parcel. And a random African Prince offering to share his fortune with me if only I send him my bank account details… 

And, funnily enough, I wasn’t remotely tempted by any of them because, let’s be honest, they scream ‘scam’ from the get-go. They’re basically so bad they’re comedy. Especially as the spelling, punctuation and pictures connected to them were appalling. But unlike this easy-to-suss stuff, there are much more complicated cons that even those of us who are internet-savvy are falling for. And sadly, it’s us middle-aged women who are more likely to be victims than any other group, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Figures show that 9.9% of women aged 45-54 in the year ending March 2022 were victims of fraud, significantly higher than the 5.8% youngest women in the survey aged 18-24 and 6% of the oldest, aged 75-plus.