High streets are reporting that fewer shoppers are hitting the high street retail stores this Christmas according to the national shopping figures as reported by Experian.

The final week running up to Christmas showed a high street footfall by 8.7% in comparison to 2007 and is set to be the worst week of the pre-Christmas period.

Many retailers are already struggling to survive and with the lapse in the hoped for Christmas rush, this is proving to be bad news.

Experian still expect more companies to go into administration due to the credit crunch and the recent loss of jobs for many people across the UK. The funds are simply not there to spend.

The government has cut tax from 17.5% to 15% to encourage more spending and increase on economic activity. This cut is expected to last throughout 2009.

As well as this, the Bank of England has cut its interest rate from 5.5% to 2%. This should help towards easing some pressure for home owners who have been affected by the credit crunch and help people to stay in their homes.

It is plain to see that the government are tying to seek ways to reduce the impact of the credit crunch, but it would seem things may still get worse before they start to get better.

Halifax have conducted a survey to show that only 1 in 5 people have cut down on their spending this Christmas.

This means that people are still borrowing to cover the costs of Christmas and still looking at Credit cards, Store cards and Loans to cover their christmas spending.

A third of people surveyed said they would still use a credit card, 14% said they would use a store card and 5% said they would take out a personal loan.

This still means a large percentage of people are feeling the pressure to spend more they can realistically afford despite the credit crunch and will foot the cost of Christmas right through to 2009 and beyond depending how long it will take for them to repay what they borrow.

Although a recent survey performed by Money Expert revealed that around 30% of Brits are concerned about their finances and personal debt, it would seem that some are still prepared to get deeper into debt because of the pressures of buying presents for their loved ones.

With the problems brought to many families due to the credit crunch, such as job loss, if you find yourself tempted to borrow money to fund Christmas, consider how long it will take you to pay off the debt and how much interest you will repay during the repayment period.

Cutting back on spending and buying less presents could prove to be a far better option rather than borrowing money which gets you further into debt and adds more pressure to your finances.

A Scam is used by a person or group which intend to trick people into believing they are reputable companies with the purpose of gaining victims confidence to swindle them for money for one reason or another.

The OFT is urging vulnerable groups such as the elderly, single parents and those on low incomes to be on their guard this Christmas where people are likely to fall victim to promises of quick and easy cash rewards.

Although people of all ages are vulnerable, the elderly are more likely to be targeted as well as falling for the scams.

Scams can include bogus lotteries, deceptive prize draws as well as people wanting to slim for the Christmas season.

More often than not, the scammers will require money to be sent to them in order to receive a promised prize draw or cash payout.

People are more likely to fall under financial pressure over the Christmas season and scammers prey on people’s vulnerability with bogus cash offers.

Gordon Lishman, Director of Age Concern said:

“Many people feel they could never be scammed, however millions become victims. People of any age be conned, but unfortunately unscrupulous fraudsters often target older people. The best defence is to know what to look out for, and always remember that if it sounds too good to be true it almost certainly is.”

The OFT have offered 10 tips to avoid being scammed:

1) Be suspicious of letters, phone calls and emails requesting you to send money to receive a cash reward or lottery win.
2) Trust your instincts. If it looks too good to be true; it probably is.
3) Always question yourself when considering sending out money. Can you afford to lose this money if the offer is not genuine?
4) Never send money to anyone claiming that you have won a prize draw, this is very likely to be a scam and you will never see that money again.
5) Don’t fall for the “You have 7 days to send this money, if you fail to send within this time period, you will loose your prize draw or cash win”.
6) 090 numbers are more than likely going to be scammers, so don’t call this number unless you are 100% sure you know the call is to a reputable company.
7) Never give your bank account, credit card or personal details over the phone or to anyone you do not know.
8 ) Scammers will try to make their letters look official, so be aware when an official looking letter requests you to send money, if you have never heard of the company, do not send anything.
9) Scammers will use fake testimonials including claiming to be supported by someone famous or working for a famous charity. Don’t be fooled into sending them anything as they are likely to be scammers.
10) IF you feel you are being targeted by scammers, don’t keep it to yourself, contact the Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

The OFT launched a Scambusters team in 2005. They consider scams a priority and set up the Scams Enforcement Group to disrupt scammers route to market.