Scam awareness in the Harrogate district

A public education programme is being launched to help older people protect themselves from mass market scams.

The senior fraud protection programme will be run by Ripley-based at-home care provider, Home Instead Senior Care, in partnership with the national scam awareness charity, Think Jessica.

As part of the campaign, the Home Instead team will hold a series of workshops aimed at sharing information with attendees on the scale of the problem and the most common scams targeting the elderly, as well as what to do if they have fallen victim to scammers.

Owner of Home Instead Senior Care Sheena Van Parys said: “The faceless criminals who use email, telephone, and post to lure their victims into parting with their life savings, personal banking information, and other assets often prey in particular on the elderly who they see as easy targets for their crimes.

“These types of scams defraud individuals in the UK of an estimated £3.5b each year and have very serious consequences for the elderly who can suffer devastating emotional distress plus loss of confidence and trust, which can lead to a loss of independence.

“Therefore, in launching the scheme, it is our hope that we can branch out into the wider community and keep as many people as possible better informed and better armed with the knowledge to correctly recognise and respond to scams and scammers.”

l Turn to pages 18 and 19 for our campaign to tackle elderly loneliness and isolation.