Bleeding them dry Financial abuse by mass marketing scams

What we will cover Mass marketing Trading Standards involvement Case studies Interventions

Mass marketing What, who, how... effects and problems

What is a mass marketing scam? Misleading or deceptive practice Unsolicited or uninvited mail/phone call False promises With the aim to con victim out of money IT IS A CRIME. IT IS FRAUDULENT.

Methods

Who is targeted? Anyone can be a target But, statistics show: Average age of a victim is 72 Most live alone, often widowed Lonely and isolated Not always lacking capacity Trusting They don’t believe they are a victim of crimeThey don’t believe they are a victim of crime

How does the con work? Frank is 75 years old, a widower and lives alone His family live nearby and are in regular contact but Frank likes keeping his privacy and independence, so is very self-reliant Meet Frank:

1 Sometimes no money is requested initially The catalogue company sells on his information to many other companies Frank responds to a catalogue prize draw – he could win cash or a brand new car

Frank responds and wins a prize! All he needs to do is pay a small fee to receive his winnings Frank starts receiving several letters a day requesting small sums of money, soon he’s paying hundreds a month More prize draw offers and competitions arrive through the letter box 2

His letter box is flooded with ‘URGENT’ letters from clairvoyants and overseas lotteries He’s persuaded to share his bank details A month on: Franks personal details have been added to a ‘suckers list’ 3 Payments ranging £18 to £1800 leave his account. He eventually goes overdrawn, can’t pay bills or buy food

What is the effect on the victim? The elderly victim cannot regain their losses Lose confidence in living alone Victims who need care may no longer be able to afford it and become dependent on the state

What are the problems? Scam mail is targeted from abroad via mail forwarders in the UK The Royal Mail must deliver all mail; we cannot interrupt the delivery Pseudo-legitimate companies use catalogues selling high priced goods as their initial pitch

What are the problems? Vulnerability Embarrassment

Further problems... Safeguarding Has not picked up the problem as financial abuse Is only seen as targeted fraud by carers or family with known perpetrators Most victims not known to adult social care

Trading Standards Stopping the cycle

What does the Care Act 2014 bring to the table for us? Financial abuse is defined: Having money or property stolen Being defrauded Being put under pressure in relation to money or other property Having money or other property misused

Section 42 Duty to make enquiries Reasonable cause to suspect Experiencing or at risk of abuse Unable to protect themselves

Why are Trading Standards involved? We are trained to investigate criminality We prosecute perpetrators Now we have a victim list

But... Offenders outside UK and EU They are chameleons Mail forwarders are being targeted Need to cut off the supply of victims - keep the ‘dealer’ away from the ‘users’

How we intervene? Mail and lists of victims are collected/seized Support worker (Age UK) visits individuals to scope risk of further scams, collects scam mail and promotes ‘TH!NK Jessica’ We make referrals to other agencies; “We Care and Repair” etc

How we intervene? Continued We contact banks with permission to prevent further losses We fit call-blockers on loan....for 12 months free of charge We support family members and victim to stop responding to mail Provide advice on ‘doorstep crime’ Refer to ASC and Care Connect If family have Lasting Power of Attorney...advise redirection of mail

What we have discovered already Recipients do not accept they are victims of a fraud They may be addicted to the process They have routine and structure to their day, waiting for and responding to mail They are bored and lonely They do not add up their losses - shocked when they do Sometimes it is an early sign of dementia Too trusting - believing they will ‘win’

Case studies

Case study 1 Phoebe is in her 70s living alone, widowed She enjoys buying porcelain ornaments and buys from catalogues She suffers from mobility issues following a road traffic accident There may be following head injuries mental capacity issues Very lonely and susceptible to ‘grooming by befriending’ – yet has good family support Responds to telephone sales Aged 70+ Lives alone Expendable cash

Case study 2 Fraser is in his 80s, a widower and lives alone with no family nearby on the scams hub list having responded to mail on pension credit high volumes of scam mail paying out £280 per month by cheque and £550 by debit to scammers didn’t believe he was a victim of crime believed he could win bought items from catalogues he didn’t want overdrawn at bank...no savings Aged 70+ Lives alone Expendable cash

Interventions

The psychology Jessica Scam Syndrome Early stages of dementia Lacking capacity? Lasting Power of Attorney Court of Protection

Everyone can help Dealing with causes; loneliness and isolation Recognising dementia Recognising JSS Referring to the right people Support the process by passing on the message spot the signs

SCHEMING CRAFTY AGGRESSIVE MALICIOUS

Help me to help them..... Helen Heskins Principal Officer North Somerset Trading Standards Artistic direction by Frank Salt