Protect Your Family From Phone Scammers

From Thames Valley Alert, 23rd January 2022.

Before you read this, ask yourself, in the last year how many cold calls, calls from Amazon, BT, your internet provider did you receive? You knew they were false but there are a number of vulnerable people who would not make that logical decision instantly, and be rushed or panicked into making a decision or lured in by a boiler-room get rich scam.

Looking at figures for 2021 Chiltern & South Bucks had 126 Action Fraud Calls for Service, 53 Action Fraud referrals and 194 Action Fraud Victim Care reports and this was only the incidents that victims reported in.

Fraud is now considered to be the most common offence and the ramifications for victims immense, even life changing, in certain cases.

Victims of fraud will be contacted by their local PCSO to conduct safeguarding checks and give crime prevention advice. This is a huge amount of work, where the role of the PCSO is vital, in looking after those most vulnerable in society. I know for a fact that the work by members of my own team have helped to prevent people from becoming repeat victims or in getting large amounts of compensation from the banks.

So what can we all do to make the biggest difference?

From liaising with our Economic Crime Unit/Action fraud team the key message to get across to officers and the victims is to stop the enabler, and in most case this is the phone. So a call blocker, or change of phone number is the best route to stop further frauds.

We need your help in identifying people who are at risk so we can help safeguard them. Please be aware of the trueCall technology that stops 98% of unknown calls by putting a safeguard in place.

TVP and Trading Standards have a number of trueCall devices that we will supply to vulnerable people.

These two short videos give you a good idea of how trueCall works:

Protecting vulnerable consumers – https://youtu.be/BiCqBO616vM
Protecting those living with dementia – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnc65GLtoHw&t

You can see the impact of the technology for vulnerable people and their carers:

A carer’s story – https://youtu.be/fQ5qjeQ6dm4
Joe’s story – https://youtu.be/fejF6Q39o3Q

Now there is something that we can do to protect our family.

Working in partnership with you to make our society safer.

Darren Walsh
PS 3675 Neighbourhood Team
Amersham Police Station