Scams awareness Louise Baxter

About the NTSST The National Scams Team (NST) is a project funded by the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and hosted by East Sussex Trading Standards Service

Aims of the NTSST IDENTIFY victims of Fraud PREVENT victims from further victimisation INVESTIGATE criminal activity EDUCATE Local Authorities and other agencies on how to work with scam victims

Scams

Scams can be defined as: an illegal plan for making money, especially one that involves tricking people Cambridge dictionary a stratagem for gain; a swindle Collins dictionary a trick, a ruse; a swindle, a racket Oxford English dictionary

“Mass Marketing Fraud (scams) is a type of fraud which aims to make victims part with their money by promising cash, prizes, services and high returns on investment” SFO (Serious Fraud Office)

To get victims hooked and responding to scams, criminals rely on…

1) The fact that it doesn’t take much time to respond 2) The fact that it doesn’t need vast amounts of money to get started

Just a trickle of money, ten pounds here, five pounds there…

Anyone can be a scam victim Your mum or dad Your grandparents Your brother or sister Your friends Your neighbour Or even the person sitting right next to you!

This problem is growing A 2015 Which? survey found that 54% of respondents have been personally exposed to a scam in the last 2 years, or have a friend or family member who has This is only going to get worse

Once a victim has responded to an initial scam…

…their personal details are added to a “Suckers” list…

…these “Suckers” lists are perpetually shared and sold on to other scammers…

…who will repeatedly target the victim with scam mail, multiple phone calls, and will even send somebody to knock on their door…

…in order to con, mislead, intimidate…

…and bully the victim into parting with their life savings.

The victims get caught in a trap; a cycle of victimisation.

Ultimately, the scam victim SUFFERS IN SILENCE.

Everyday, people get caught out by scams such as…

Lottery & Prize draws Phishing 1 Investment Direct transfers 1 Pensions

Leading to situations like these…

One victim was found to have been receiving 30 bits of mail and 10 phone calls per day It was later discovered she had lost over £1 Million

The National Trading Standards Scams Team estimates a loss of between £5 – 10 BILLION to Mass Marketing Fraud every year…

…not to mention the cost of looking after people who give away their life savings to these criminals.

Sadly, these victims are not going to win a foreign lottery or receive the millions of pounds that are “waiting” for them… (For a small fee)

…instead, they will be repeatedly targeted...

…and the victimisation will only stop when...

…the victim runs out of money, someone intervenes, or the victim passes away.

As you can see…

…the problem is massive…

…but that’s why the National Trading Standards Scams Team exists. To give a voice to those “silent” victims

The NTSST has approached over 200 Local Authority Trading Standards Services nationally The NTSST works in partnership with Local Authorities to support these silent victims of fraud 75% of Local Authorities have signed up to the project and are supporting local victims. What do the NTSST do?

200,000 potential victims and increasing weekly 13 suckers lists 33 national partners who send referrals What do the NTSST do?

£15,950,720 Estimated Detriment to consumers £1,076 Estimated per victim £9,480,483 Estimated Savings to consumers as result of intervention £640 Estimated per victim Identifying victims

Scam victims are only human They could be going through a period of vulnerability They want to provide a financial gift to their family They are lonely or bored and want something to do during the day They are recently widowed or inexperienced in dealing with financial matters They are in financial hardship They respond impulsively They feel pressured to respond Through habit or a dislike of change They believe they have won

Scammers are clever Scam mail looks genuine High value rewards offered Exploitation of human wants and needs Personalisation of scams False timescales Participants active engagement Secrecy

The NTSST project has revealed scam victims as young as 19 years old However, the average age of victims is around 75 years old Scam victims are NOT always old

Scammers target the elderly. Why? Have access to their own funds and sometimes substantial disposable income Live alone Have few or no visitors so often spend the day at home Are trusting of peoples motives Own a landline telephone Have physical or mental health problems Suffer from a cognitive impairment such as a form of dementia like Alzheimer’s disease

If you identify a victim what do you currently do? What can you do to help?

1.Scam victims are only human 2.Scam victims are NOT always motivated by financial gain 3.Anyone can be a scam victim, regardless of age, gender, education or economic background 4.Scammers are extremely clever 5.Scammers will use any means possible to obtain your personal details or steal your money 5 key points about scams