Scamming older people
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Millions of people are targeted by scammers every year and some victims can lose thousands of pounds. Older people are often targeted by scammers. Read our guide, or share it with your relatives and friends, to help you keep one step ahead of the scammers.
On this page you can find information on:
1. What is a scam?
2. Who might be targeted?
3. How to spot a scam
4. What to do if you are worried about being scammed
5. What to do if you are caught out by a scammer
6. Getting your money back from a scammer
What is a scam?
A scam is a dishonest scheme used by criminals to trick people out of their money. Your personal details (such as name, address, passwords, account numbers, date of birth) are also high on scammers’ wish lists as they provide a route to your cash. Stealing personal details is known as ID fraud, which is on the rise. With this information, it's possible for fraudsters to take money from your bank, go on a spending spree with your cards, open new accounts in your name or make false insurance claims.
Scammers are convincing liars who use every trick in the book to make their scams sound plausible. They are ruthless and don’t care who they hurt along the way. If a scammer gets lucky – targeting the right person, in the right way, at the right time – anyone could fall victim to a scam.
Scammers might be individuals, but often they are organised gangs who work full time thinking up new and improved ways to con innocent people out of their cash. They might approach potential targets by phone, post, online or even by visiting them at home.
Who might be targeted?
More than 5 million people a year in the UK are victims of scams, according to Age UK ('Only the tip of the iceberg', published 2015). It claims that only 5% of scams are reported, so the actual number could be much higher. In addition, 80% of phone scam victims are over 55 years of age, according to 2015 research from the Financial Ombudsman, and the average age of a postal scam victim is 74 years, according to National Trading Standards.
Anyone can fall victim to a scam, but older people can be at greater risk because scammers tend to target people who:
Live alone
Are at home during the day
Have savings or valuables
Are more likely to talk to them.
Older people often fit the bill. Some older people might be suffering from dementia, which could affect their decision-making process or they might also feel lonely, which might make them more likely to talk to people.
If you have an older relative who lives alone, warn them about common scams. It's important to raise awareness of the types of scam and how to spot them (see below) as scammers can be very convincing. Many victims don’t realise that they are being tricked and believe that scams only happen to ‘other people’.
Types of scam
The main objective of a scammer is to trick someone out of money. They might try to do this by:
promising a gift, prize or ‘windfall’ of some kind, if you part with a smaller amount of cash
befriending you, then convincing you to part with cash to help them out of a tricky situation
selling a product or service that you don’t need, or that never materialises
tricking their way into your home so that they can steal cash or valuables
impersonating a trusted organisation – such as your bank, utility company, the police or a government department – to trick you into divulging personal information.
Scammers might get in touch using a variety of different methods:
Campaign to safeguard us from scams Fraud is now at record levels, with more than five million scams costing Brits a mind-boggling £9bn each year. While there are sensible steps we can all take to protect ourselves and older relatives and friends, an unfair burden has been placed on the public. Which? is urging the government to take the lead and ensure companies safeguard us all from scams. Sign up to the campaign here.
How to spot a scam
Spotting a scam isn’t always easy. There’s a fine, and often blurry, line between a scammer and an unscrupulous trader. But scammers use some common tactics, which can give them away. If you spot any of these, alarm bells should start ringing.
Being contacted out of the blue
Whether you are looking for a new bank account, pension advice or local trader you should always be the first to make contact. Be suspicious of any company that contacts you out of the blue. At best it’s a sign of a pushy salesperson, at worst it’s an attempted scam – either way you probably don’t want to deal with them.
The deal sounds too good to be true
Scams often try to hook you in by telling you that you’ve won a large prize or can make lots of money by investing a small sum with zero risk. It's highly unlikely that someone you’ve never heard of will contact you with the ‘offer of a lifetime’. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
You are asked for personal details
Scammers will try anything to get your personal details – with this they can steal your money, access your accounts and even set up new accounts in your name. Be very careful who you share your personal details with. Read more about ID theft on the Which? Consumer Rights website.
You have to make a decision straight away
Scammers will often try to hurry your decision making. The more time you have to think about something, the more likely you are to realise something’s wrong. Always take time to think things through. A reputable company should always give you time to make an informed decision. Don’t trust anyone who tries to rush you.
Letters and emails full of grammatical or spelling mistakes
Scammers often use bad grammar and spelling. Legitimate organisations will rarely, if ever, make glaring mistakes.
Don’t tell anyone else
Being asked to keep something quiet should be a red flag. Scammers only say this to try to stop you from talking to friends and family who might alert you to the con.
Dodgy contact details
Scammers, understandably, don’t like giving out their contact details. If someone contacts you out of the blue, and asks for money, think twice if they refuse to give their own contact details or only have a mobile number or PO Box address. You should be suspicious of anyone giving inadequate contact information.