Shropshire's elderly having their health and wellbeing damaged by scammers, charity warns
Elderly people in Shropshire are having their health and wellbeing damaged by scammers swindling them out of their savings.
That is the stark warning from the county branch of leading older people's charity Age UK after yet another scam warning from West Mercia Police.
Analysis by the charity has found that an elderly person in England and Wales becomes a victim of fraud every 40 seconds.
On Monday, police warned of a telephone scam targeting people in the Shrewsbury area.
Heather Osborne, chief executive of Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin, said: “We are extremely concerned to hear that older people are once again being targeted by criminals in increasingly elaborate and sophisticated scams.
"We urge people to get in touch with family members or older and vulnerable friends and warn them of these latest developments.
"The effects of fraud on innocent people can be devastating and life-changing, leading to serious damage to health and wellbeing.”
Fraud incidents have increased nationally by nearly 20 per cent to 3.8 million and older people are three times more likely to be a victim of fraud than burglary.
West Mercia Police has seen a sharp rise in reported incidents of telephone fraud, including callers pretending to be police officers from the Fraud Squad.
Trust
Victims are told that there has been fraudulent activity on their bank accounts and are asked to transfer money into another account, operated by fraudsters.
Some people have also withdrawn large amounts of money which is later collected on the doorstep by ‘couriers’ working for organised crime gangs who pretend to be from the police or other agencies such as HMRC.
Age UK's Crime Survey found that eight per cent of respondents aged 65 and older reported being the victim of fraud in the last year – equivalent to more than 800,000 older people in England and Wales.
Graham Donaldson, Rural and Business Crime Officer for Shropshire, emphasised that the police or other professional organisations will never ask for bank details or a withdrawal of money.
He added: “Don’t trust anyone who calls you about your bank details. Always hang up immediately and wait ten minutes then call 101 and report it.
“Do not accept any offers to call them on numbers they supply. The police will never ask you to call 999 unless it is an emergency.
"Do not use 1471 to try and gain the number called as this may reconnect to the original callers.”
Age UK is calling for a new national strategy to tackle fraud. People looking for advice can call Age UK's free national advice line all year round on 0800 169 65 65.
