A SPECIALIST squad to tackle rogue traders and confidence tricksters throughout Yorkshire is due to be launched this autumn after almost £750,000 in Government funding has been secured.
The new York-based Scambusters team is expected to be operational by the end of October in a nationwide crackdown on gangs of con artists.
Specially-trained trading standards officers will work across 14 local authority areas in the Yorkshire and
Humber region, linking in with police to gather intelligence and bring offenders to justice.
Evidence has emerged that large-scale scams are operating across local authority boundaries, making it difficult for trading standards officers to tackle the culprits under the previously piecemeal approach.
The new squad will now target large-scale, organised counterfeiting operations as well as a hunting down a host of other offenders, including cowboy builders and those behind car-clocking operations.
Doorstep crime will also be tackled, along with deceptive selling techniques, particularly those targeting vulnerable consumers working from home and other "get rich quick" schemes.
York Council's executive member for neighbourhood services, Coun Ann Reid, said: "The Scambusters team will work to identify and prioritise problems and intervene to tackle these effectively."
The new York-based unit, which has secured £749,600 in funding to cover an initial three-year period, is part of a nationwide crackdown following a series of successful pilot projects in the Midlands, the North-East and a combined team covering the South-East, East and London.
The Government announced in June that it is investing about £7.5m in Scambusters teams in Wales, Scotland and each of the nine regions in England.
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