With the winter months drawing near it can be a difficult time for our more vulnerable loved ones and can unfortunately make them targets to fraudulent individuals. That is why Home Instead Senior Care Norwich and Clapham and Collinge solicitors recently teamed up to offer a free Scam Prevention Workshop for older people, family members, carers and people throughout the community.
The workshop held on the 23rd September 2019 offered advice and guidance in supporting your loved ones to help them feel safe and secure in their own home. As the home is no longer only targeted by doorstep sales-people and cold callers but also nuisance calls, texts and unwanted post it is important that we take steps to prevent this invasion of privacy and security.
Citizens Advice research shows that almost three-quarters (72%) of people surveyed had been targeted by scammers over a two year period. Over a third, had been targeted five or more times. Home Instead Senior Care and the team at Clapham and Collinge Solicitors have identified some ways your loved ones may be targeted and offer suggestions of preventative measure.
Doorstep Salespeople and Cold Callers
Door to door sales techniques can often include a very pushy and intimidating pitch with the aim of selling a service or product to an individual that may not necessarily require that service/product.
As we all know these pushy pitches are easier to avoid when you are not in a face to face scenario, we would suggest that you or your loved one take care in answering the door unless they have previously arranged a visit.
Online Scams
The anonymity of the internet presents opportunity for would-be scammers without the risk of being identified. You may be approached through various different methods of direct communication such as Email or social media or indirect methods such as fraudulent websites, viruses and fake dating sites.
You can take the following preventative measures to protect yourself and your loved ones from these common scams.
- When entering payment details always check the web address starts with a secure extension of 'HTTPS' for example 'https://example.com/'
- Make sure you or your loved one have up to date Anti-Virus software.
- If you receive a suspicious Email from an individual claiming to be your gas, energy or another supplier do not click any links or download any attachments contained within the email. Search for the provider's website yourself and make an enquiry or call the number provided on your legitimate communication.
- Similarly if you receive an Email from a company/provider asking for your bank details do not follow their instructions. Contact the company/provider directly or if you have an account on their website sign in and check for any new messages.
If you receive any of the above phishing attempts make sure you report them to the organisation the individual is claiming to be from, they will confirm whether it is genuine or fake correspondence.
Unwanted Calls and Texts
Unfortunately sales calls are a product of our society and an unwanted nuisance. Our information may not be as secure as we would like it to be and we have all had calls asking if you had recently been in a road traffic accident.
A scammer may pretend be to calling from your bank, service provider or another trusted company with the intent to access your information or bank accounts.
It is important to not give out any personal details and if you are not expecting the call – hang up.
Clapham and Collinge are proud to provide the local elderly community with an extensive range of private client services across Norfolk. If you would like to enquire about our private client services please contact our Client Relations Team on 01603 693500 or email us using the 'Make an Enquiry' online form on our website.
*This article is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or other professional advice.
