THOUSANDS of people in Lancashire have been identified as targets for get-rich-quick share fraudsters.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has recovered a list of potential targets for so-called 'boiler room' scammers which included thousands of Lancashire addresses.

Typical victims report losses of over £20,000.

The share fraudsters, who operate both at home and abroad, cold call victims by telephone and use high-pressure sales tactics to con potential investors into buying worthless or non-existent shares.

They often have fake UK addresses, re-route their phone lines abroad and frequently disappear when investors have paid over their investment monies.

A 'master list' recovered by FSA investigators contained the names and addresses of more than 38,000 people nationwide, including several thousand Lancashire addresses. Everyone on the list in Lancashire will receive letters from the FSA warning them of the get-rich-quick scam merchants who contact their victims out of the blue and offer them worthless or bogus shares.

Coun Albert Atkinson, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “The advice from Trading Standards is the same every time they uncover a con – only deal with reputable and established businesses.

“Genuine companies do not sell shares by unsolicited telephone calls. Consumers should therefore always assume any cold-called approach is suspect and should never agree to buy or sell shares in this way.

“Anyone selling shares in the UK must be registered with the Financial Services Authority and this register can be checked on-line or on the phone.”

Anybody who thinks they may have been targeted by a so-called boiler room should call the FSA's customer contact centre on 0845 606 1234.