Scams and swindles Time to protect older people Older people need more protection from criminals who ruthlessly steal from them through a variety of scams and swindles. The thieves use four basic methods – online, telephone, post and on the doorstep to perpetrate their crimes. Sadly, many older people fall victim to a range of scams including fake lotteries, psychics and rogue builders. Age Cymru believes it’s time for a different approach. We believe the companies used by the scammers, Royal Mail, internet service providers and telephony firms should provide more protection for their customers. We’re calling for more protection to prevent scams reaching older people. We’re also calling on the Welsh Government and local authorities to examine the case for drastically increasing the scope and the range of No Cold Call Zones to protect older people from rogue traders on their doorsteps.
Wales scams in one year Doorstep complaints reported
Post, email, telephone complaints reported
Prosecutions
Prosecutions
985
1,658
19
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95% of scams are not reported says Office of Fair Trading
Scams by the thousand Age Cymru research reveals that more than 2,500 scams were reported to trading standards departments in Wales between February 2012 and February 2013. This figure could be the tip of the iceberg. The Office of Fair Trading believes that only 5% of scams are ever reported. That means up to 50,000 scams could have been committed. Just under 1,000 doorstep scams/frauds were reported. More than half were investigated but there were only 19 prosecutions across Wales. Some investigations are ongoing. More than 1,650 mail/phone/online scams were reported in Wales. Investigations are often passed on to Action Fraud, part of the Metropolitan Police. Welsh figures are not available.
Age Cymru call to action – page 4 www.agecymru.org.uk
Registered charity 1128436
The case for putting more responsibility with communications companies Scams and swindles threaten us all as criminals try to find new ways to steal our money. Office of Fair Trading figures suggest people in the UK lose £3.5 billion a year to scammers. They target the vulnerable and they will pursue victims ruthlessly if they find a chink in their armour. Older people, especially the lonely and those in failing physical or mental health, are particularly at risk. Once caught some will be added to a so-called ‘suckers list’ and their details passed to more criminals. Evidence suggests that older victims of reported scams lose an average of £1,200 each. *Hansard Many lose considerably more, right up to their life savings. They can also lose self esteem, dignity and their will to live. Families can be devastated as some older people end up trusting the scammers more than their own relatives. Police and trading standards confirm that some of the scams help to finance organised crime. Age Cymru and other organisations such as trading standards and the police, offer advice and support to potential scam victims, yet the problem persists. This is hardly surprising when it’s considered that about 50% of the population receive some form of scam through the post, e-mail or telephone every year. *Hansard
We believe older people need greater protection to be provided by the communications companies used by the criminals to facilitate their scams. * Parlimentary debate on scams January 30, 2013
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Doorstep crime is still prolific, with rogue traders conning householders into having unnecessary work done and demanding staggering amounts upfront for often shoddy work or no work at all. We believe older people need greater protection to be provided by the communications companies used by the criminals to facilitate their scams. Royal Mail, for instance, delivers hundreds of thousands of scam letters, possibly millions, every year. Age Cymru wants to work with Royal Mail to help it to protect potential victims of scam mail. We believe the UK Government should remove legislative barriers that prevent it from intervening. We want to see local delivery staff allowed to help and advise the vulnerable. We are certain Royal Mail does not wish to profit from the proceeds of crime, but while it acts as the delivery agent for criminals it is doing so. This has to change. Equally internet service providers and telephony companies need to do more to protect older people from e-mail and phone scams. We are certain that improved technology and protocols could cut down at least some of the approaches by swindlers. We admire the vigour that is put into the fight against other online crime such as child pornography and we would like to similar efforts made to protect older people against scams that can destroy their lives.
The following are quotes extracted from letters sent to the Think Jessica campaign. ‘My mother, like Jessica, did receive 30-plus letters a day and her house is covered with piles of papers and boxes of unwanted goods. I have tried the police, post office, solicitors, trading standards, etc but to no avail.’
‘My grandmother spends almost ALL of her money responding to clairvoyant letters from Switzerland. She is in denial and won’t admit that she replies to them.’
Each of these snippets represents a human tragedy. They illustrate vividly why information and advice are simply not enough to prevent older people from becoming ensnared in financial scams. In our view older people need more protection so that the majority of the scams never reach them in the first place. Royal Mail knows it is delivering scam letters by the thousand. Telephony companies and internet service providers know criminals are using their services to rob vulnerable people. We believe it is long overdue for communications companies to face up to their responsibilities and provide more protection and support to the people who are trapped by scammers using their services.
‘My dad keeps sending money off to various places, because he believes he is going to win money. The latest one he has been doing is the European Lottery Guild - the address is in Amsterdam - he seems to be doing it out of boredom and for a chance of winning a large amount of money - he says opening all this mail passes the time of day and gives him something to do!’
‘My 86 year old mother is adamant that a courier will arrive next Thursday to present her with a cheque for £500,000.’
We’re grateful to Marilyn Baldwin, who set up Think Jessica after watching her mother’s final years ruined by scammers, for allowing us to use them.
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Doorstep crime is still prolific, with rogue traders conning householders into having unnecessary work done and demanding staggering amounts upfront for often shoddy work or no work at all. We will not be able to stop criminals from trying to rob older and other vulnerable people of their money; but we can make their task much more difficult. We profoundly believe much more can be done to stop the scams from reaching their target. For instance No Cold Calling Zones have led to sharp drops in the numbers of reported doorstep crimes in some areas. In others they have led to a substantial rise in confidence among residents in confronting doorstep callers. One of the key United Nations Principles for Older Persons is that they ‘should be able to live in dignity and security and be free of exploitation and physical or mental abuse.’ Age Cymru will do everything it can under its Rule Out Abuse banner to make this principle a reality.
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Age Cymru is calling for: 1 Royal Mail protocols to be changed to allow its staff to offer advice and report suspicious mail when they suspect someone is being scammed. Legislation to be amended by the UK Government to allow this. 2 Telephony companies to offer more protection against scam phonecalls, especially from abroad, and to close down lines from offenders. 3 I nternet service providers to increase protection against spam/scam e-mails with higher security levels, plus blocking access to known offenders. 4 The Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities to consider dramatically increasing the number of No Cold Calling Zones to protect older people from unscrupulous rogue traders and doorstep scams.
BBC political correspondent David Cornock’s story My mother, Anne Cornock, was conned out of her life savings during the last months of her life. She lost more than £270,000 in a scam linked to a new drive at her modest two bed bungalow outside Cardiff. It began with a cold caller suggesting her drive needed repaving. The work was done and she paid for it. But then the workmen came back to demand more. Over 18 months, she handed over cash
Every penny she had earned and saved went. payments that were typically £4,000 or £5,000. She was persuaded to sign a bank transfer for £115,000, a bankers’ draft for £20,000. Every penny she had earned and saved went.
My mum was an intelligent woman, who worked hard in responsible jobs all her life. She had managed her finances well since my father died 20 years earlier. But somehow she fell for this scam, unknown to family, friends and neighbours. Like many older people (she was 76) in that situation, she was too ashamed to have fallen for it to ask for help. We only found out when she was admitted to hospital and I inadvertently discovered a letter about an overdraft. It was a shocking discovery: my mother had traditional views on debt and thrift and had a comfortable income from pensions. When she learned that my sister and I had found out about the scam, she broke down. She’d been so worried about the money she’d put off going to the doctor about some “discomfort”. By the time she did visit her GP, it was too late. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died a few weeks later.
Like many older people (she was 76) in that situation, she was too ashamed to have fallen for it to ask for help. I’d rung the police when I found out about the missing money. They interviewed mum in hospital and were helpful and sensitive throughout. Two people were jailed, although the ringleaders were never brought to justice for a scam that is sadly all too common. Three years on, I still find it hard to believe what happened. I know that if she could fall for that sort of scam, then so could anyone - you, me, your mum, your gran - which is why we all need to be on our guard. And why I support Age Cymru in its efforts to tackle this abuse.
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Experiences of a North Wales daughter
Ruthless rogue traders targeted blind man, 91
We think my mum started being taken in by junk mail whilst she was nursing my dad about 18 months ago. Just before he died she was very stressed and needed to distance herself.
Mr T was a 91 year old man who was blind and living alone with help from social services.
She may have gone in for foreign lotteries, she cannot remember and she certainly ordered a lot of stuff she didn’t need in order to be entered into draws, particularly just after his death.
His address had been visited by rogue traders 12 months earlier when they had taken cash payment for some unnecessary work. A camera was fitted inside his hallway after the first incident.
She then spent time writing to companies asking where her promised prizes were. She had been married for 50 years and they were always together. We only really realised this was happening a year later having access to her cheque book to help her pay her bills and seeing she was sending an average of £70 a week to these scammers. I have explained these are scams but she doesn’t want to believe it and insists the money she wins will come to us children. We have begged her to stop as we are both so stressed about it. In her late eighties my mum is bright and of sound mind apart from this.
On the next occasion two people cold called at his bungalow and told him they were passing when they noticed some tiles needed replacing on his roof. Mr T was blind and they convinced him it needed doing and took him to his local bank to get the cash to pay for the work they intended carrying out. One of the men actually stood over him whilst he made the withdrawal.
We can do nothing to stop her if she persists but all her friends and neighbours have also spoken to her and told her to stop. She has said she has tried but is finding it difficult. With the help of a Think Jessica DVD and various printouts from the internet I hope we may finally persuade her. She and my dad worked hard for their pensions and now it is all being lost to these scams. She receives five or more letters everyday and the language they use and outrageous claims are obvious scams.
He was a retired RAF Officer; staunchly independent and maintained the standards he had set himself throughout his life.
On their return to his home and as they were getting their ladders out, Mr T’s social worker arrived and asked what was happening. He assessed that the work was unnecessary and demanded that the cash be returned to Mr T and they leave. Police and trading standards were called and an investigation took place. This culminated in the arrest of one of the crook who was responsible for other similar offences. He was jailed for 14 months. Unfortunately within 6 months Mr T died.
Age Cymru call to action – page 4
Scams and swindles
Tyˆ John Pathy, 13/14 Neptune Court Vanguard Way, Cardiff CF24 5PJ Tel: 029 2043 1555 www.agecymru.org.uk Age Cymru is a registered charity 1128436. Company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales 6837284. Registered office as above. ©Age Cymru 2013
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