People from Staffordshire are being asked for their help in a new campaign to help tackle the issue of mail scams.

Staffordshire County Council's Trading Standards service wants people to have a chat with their loved ones about scams and to send in any scam or unwanted mail they receive.

Typical mail scams include those relating to lotteries and prize draws, psychics and clairvoyants, pyramid schemes, unclaimed inheritance and bogus job offers. These are all designed to steal money from you or get your personal details.

The campaign is being led by National Trading Standards (NTS) and is running throughout December. People can click here for details on where to send their items of scam mail.

Mail received by the team is used to help disrupt criminal networks. Since 2016, the NTS Scams Team have stopped 10,069,130 items of fraudulent mail landing on consumer's doorsteps.

Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Communities at Staffordshire County Council said: "Scams cause a huge amount of misery to those caught up in them and it's something we are working hard to stamp out.

"Mail scams are still a popular method for criminals who usually try and target older more vulnerable residents.

"In this campaign, as well as asking people to look out for family members, friends or neighbours we also want people to send in the scam mail they receive. This will help investigators identify and catch the scammers.

"We appreciate that these kind of scams can be difficult to spot and many appear genuine. But if people are in any doubt at all they should ignore the offer and notify a family member.

"People should always be wary about an unsolicited approach or a letter or mailing out of the blue. We would always advise that offers that appear too good to be true usually are."

Some tips on avoiding mail scams include:

- Contact the Mailing Preference Service to have your name taken off direct mailing lists in the UK.

- You can avoid being added to mailing lists which scammers sometimes get hold of. When you register to vote, tick the box to opt out of the 'edited register' (also known as the 'open register').

- Put a 'no junk mail' sign on your door. You can make this sign yourself or buy one online.

- If you have received or are receiving something that looks like scam mail, talk about it with someone you trust such as a friend or family member, or contact Action Fraud immediately if you think you've been scammed, so they can try to track down the fraudster, and ensure that other people don't go through the same experience.

- Always check the credentials of any company or legal professional you're unsure about.