Vulnerable people, such as older people, are particularly at risk from the scammers.
People known to our adult protection team are more than four times more likely to have been harmed financially than in other ways.
The council and the police have developed a Financial Abuse Support Team (FAST) to respond quickly to any reports of vulnerable people being scammed or bullied into giving or sending away money.
If you suspect someone you know is being scammed, please contact FAST via ACCESSLine on 03452 777 778.
Elder abuse can by carried out by anyone known to the person such as family, neighbours or friends.
You can protect the people you care about by looking for the warning signals:
- Does the person receive a lot of junk mail?
- Does the person have a house full of cheap looking goods such as jewellery or health products?
- Does the person receive frequent calls from strangers?
- Does the person become secretive when discussing finances with family and friends?
For more information on how you can help protect elderly and vulnerable people from scams visit Think Jessica.
Our policy on financial harm has more information on the work we do to prevent people falling prey to financial harm through scams.