Fraud, theft, abuse and neglect reaches epidemic levels
Older people are being targeted more than ever before in new statistics and data revealed by Hourglass at the start of Safer Ageing Week (11/11/24).
The charity, the only one of its kind in the UK, reports that calls to its helpline are up 65% year-on-year and this has led to over 75,000 calls, contacts and impacts involving older people, their families and professionals.
This is an all-time record for the thirty-year-old charity.
As part of a new campaign, entitled Take Note, the charity is urging the general public and influencers to finally grasp the nettle about the abuse of older people and treat it in the same manner as other forms of abuse.
This comes off the back of recent staggering data that revealed over £53m has been reported as losses relating to economic abuse in the past three years – an average of £87k per case (5,127 cases). These figures, which come from Hourglass cases alone, are likely to be a significant underestimate.
Hourglass, who uniquely support older victim-survivors of abuse and neglect, employ just thirty members of staff to deal with cases, calls and research. However, the charity has seen figures jump from around 10,000 in 2020/21 to the new high of 75,000 in 2023/24.
Commenting on the figures, Richard Robinson CEO of Hourglass, said: “There is no question we are facing an epidemic of abuse of older people in the UK but it remains firmly under the radar.
“We estimate that abuse of older people costs the UK economy £16 billion per year, excluding economic abuse, and this equates to a figure of £50k per victim-survivor per year.
“Safer Ageing Week 2024 is a rare opportunity to shine a light on these issues and sound the alarm bell.
We are sleepwalking into a scenario where we are expecting more than nine million extra older people in the UK by 2050, equivalent to another city with the population of London, but with little pre-planning around safer ageing, abuse services and specialist safeguarding.
“We are already at epidemic levels – without urgent work, we are looking at a tidal wave of issues.”
Hourglass has today launched its fifth annual Safer Ageing Week campaign. Entitled ‘Take Note’, it runs from the 11th to the 17th November and warns of the continuing tide of economic abuse against older people.
The charity, operating across the UK, uniquely supports older victims-survivors of abuse and neglect across the four nations. Its services include a 24/7 helpline, unique casework service and specialist policy unit.
At the launch of Safer Ageing Week the charity has revealed that over £53 million has been stolen or defrauded from older people in the past three years.
These are purely in cases reported to their helpline, meaning this is just the tip of the iceberg. These figures equate to an average value lost as £87,000 per victim. In 61% of these cases, the perpetrator was a family member of the victim-survivor.
The effect on this massive fraud against older people is significant, bearing in mind the ongoing cost of living crisis and a rapidly ageing older population that is set to see a further 9.6 million older people in the UK by 2050. The charity believes this abuse is only set to increase.
Awareness amongst the general public of what constitutes economic abuse is shockingly low, with a 2024 poll conducted by Hourglass finding that over 26% of people did not believe that forcing an older relative to change their will was an act of abuse.
The charity is set to release further reports throughout the week which will reveal the nature and extent of the economic abuse of older people and evaluating how well financial institutions are performing at safeguarding against this abuse.
Veronica Gray, Deputy CEO and Director of Policy of Hourglass said:“Safer Ageing Week this year focuses on economic abuse and the theme is ‘Take Note’.
“The £53m stolen or defrauded from Hourglass victim-survivors underlines the significance of Taking Note and for the public and influencers to finally grasp the epidemic proportions of abuse against older people.
“We would urge everyone to support this fifth Safer Ageing Week and keep an eye on the raft of announcements and initiatives underway during the week. Hourglass wants everyone involved in supporting older people or dealing with domestic abuse or neglect to help bring this to the public’s attention.
Thousands of people’s lives are being ruined every day in the UK by a hidden scam epidemic, according to a law firm that specialises in fraud recovery.
Richardson Hartley Law says that the country is in the grip of a ‘scamdemic’ and is calling for the Government, banks, tech giants and social media companies to do more to prevent fraud which it says is only going to get worse.
The law firm has set up a new specialist brand and website called NationalFraudHelpline.co.uk which, not only recovers scam victims’ money on a no win, no fee basis, but is developing anti-fraud technology, campaigning for better scam safeguards and raising awareness of the scale of the problem.
The website has the latest scam news and advises the public how they can protect themselves from fraud.
Calls for better protection comes after new rules were introduced last week(7.10.24) that mean that UK banks should reimburse fraud victims within five business days if they paid the scammer via authorised push payment (APP), which is when customers pay via their banking app or through logging in online.
Solicitor Martin Richardson, senior partner, at NationalFraudHelpline.co.uk, welcomed the new fraud regulations imposed by the Payment Services Regulator but said he was disappointed that the banks had recently pressured it to reduce the maximum that they had to pay out from £415,000 to £85,000.
Mr Richardson said: ‘There’s a hidden fraud pandemic in the UK that’s being hugely under-estimated. We’re describing it as a “scamdemic” and the impact is devastating. Many victims of fraud are having their lives ruined. We deal with people who have been left homeless, split up with their partners, been plunged into depression and forced to take on extra jobs.
‘Fraud is a multi-billion pound global business. Many victims in this country are falling victim to frauds that are perpetrated by people held in slave camps in South East Asia. where an estimated 200,000 people have been human trafficked and are forced to commit scams.
‘International criminals are harnessing the power of technology to commit increasingly sophisticated scams. With the advent of AI this is only going to get worse, and quickly.
‘We worry that reducing the maximum reimbursement threshold from £415,000 to £85,000 gives the banks less motivation to put in proper fraud prevention measures. There’s also a danger that this means some banks will cap the amount of compensation at £85,000 rather than compensate the full amount.
‘We’re determined, not just to get victims’ money back, but to create proper fraud prevention measures and raise awareness of how big this issue is. Millions of people are scammed in the UK each year.
‘Technology and the internet is in everyone’s lives and it’s been a gift to fraudsters. It’s unlocked the doors for scammers who use every opportunity to steal people’s money.
‘The Government, big tech giants and social media companies all need to do much more. So many of the scams we see come through Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp as well as emails.’
NationalFraudHelpline.co.uk has joined forces with leading UK Artificial Intelligence company, Time Machine Capital Squared, to create innovative anti-fraud technology solutions.
A spokesperson for Time Machine Capital Squared said: ‘We are confident that Machine Learning and AI are vital tools in the fight against fraud. AI will be particularly effective in helping to quickly thwart new frauds as scammers change their tactics and targets.’
The law firm is also campaigning at a national level for better fraud prevention and is sponsoring a report into ‘Banks and APP fraud’ commissioned by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Banking. The report will look at how the new APP fraud measure are working and what more can be done.
Mr Richardson said: ‘It is estimated that in 2024 one in ten people will fall victim to a scam which will total £7.5bn. That is an incredible number. The banks are suggesting people are being defrauded of around £400m a year through APP fraud alone. We believe that the true figure is between £3b to £4b.
‘The issue of fraud needs to be high up on everyone’s agenda
‘Fraud is particularly cruel. For victims of romance fraud, for example, they not only lose huge amounts of money but are simultaneously left heartbroken. The stories we hear each day are heartbreaking.’
With statistics this year from Age Scotland showing that over 400,000 older people living in Scotland have been targeted by scammers, it has never been more important to protect yourself and others from falling victim to fraudsters. Crimes include crypto currency, scam text messages and fake phone calls or emails impersonating trusted organisations such as banks.
While a rapid rise in cases were seen across all age groups, older people are particularly more susceptible. Incidences of fraud crime against this age demographic in Scotland are rising, as scammers take advantage of their relative unfamiliarity with technology, and potentially more trusting nature.
To mark International Day of Older Persons on 1st October, Scottish charity the Cyber and Fraud Hub has relaunched its Older Person’s guide to encourage older residents to be vigilant when it comes to online scams.
Originally produced by the Cyber and Fraud Centre Scotland, AGuide to Avoiding Fraud and Scams for Older People addresses some of the most common forms of cyber and fraud crime, and will be distributed through local community networks as well as being available online.
The guide aims to empower older adults to navigate the digital landscape safely and securely, and provides insights into common online scams, identifies red flags to watch out for, and outlines steps to take in case of suspected fraud.
The Cyber and Fraud Hub is the first charity of its kind in Scotland, offering comprehensive support tailored specifically to individuals affected by cyber and fraud crimes. The Hub is built on strong relationships with Police Scotland and the banking sector, and its mission is to ensure that members of the public across Scotland receive the support they need when they are most vulnerable.
Since the Cyber and Fraud Hub launched, the team has dealt with around £250k of crypto frauds across all age groups and stopped or prevented around £60k from being transferred to fraudsters. Victims of crypto currency scams usually engage with individuals who are unknown to them through unsolicited approaches on WhatsApp, Facebook or dating apps, for example, or click on links by AI generated celebrities supposedly promoting crypto scams.
Other common scam and fraud attempts affecting older people most commonly include telephone scams, banking scams, WhatsApp family and friends impersonation scams, parcel delivery scams and investment and pension scams.
Alex Dowall, Head of Fraud and Cyber at the Cyber and Fraud Hub, said: “Anyone of any age can fall victim to a scam and fraud attempts are on the increase for all age groups, however we have noticed a huge increase in scammers repeatedly targeting older people.
“The Hub was launched to offer Scotland’s only dedicated cyber support for all members of the public. We understand that our older residents are less likely to access online and social media platforms, so we are encouraging people to have a conversation about our guide with their older friends, family and neighbours to empower them to be as vigilant as possible against fraud and scam attempts.”
International Day of Older Persons raises awareness of opportunities and challenges faced by ageing populations, and to mobilise the wider community to address difficulties faced by older people.
While the day focuses on many issues, Cyber and Fraud Hub urges older people to:
Be cautious of unexpected calls, emails, or letters.
Never give out personal information over the phone or email.
Be suspicious of any offers that sound too good to be true.
Shred personal documents before throwing them away.
Talk to someone you trust about your finances.
To access the guide, visitthe Resources section on the Cyber and Fraud Hub at cyberfraudhub.org.
Anyone who finds themselves a victim of a cyber or fraud crime can call the incident response helpline on 0808 281 3580.
Banks to be given new powers to protect consumers against scams
New rules extend maximum delay for suspicious payments by 72 hours
Gives banks more time to investigate and break the spell of fraudsters
Banks will be given new powers to delay and investigate payments that are suspected of being fraudulent, helping to protect consumers against scammers.
New laws proposed by the Government today will extend the time that payments can be delayed by 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a payment is fraudulent and more time is needed for the bank to investigate.
This will give banks more time to break the spell woven by fraudsters over their victims and tackle the estimated £460 million lost to fraud last year alone.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Tulip Siddiq said: “Hundreds of millions of pounds are lost to scammers each year, targeting vulnerable communities and ruining the lives of ordinary people.
“We need to protect these people better, which is why we are giving banks more time to investigate suspicious payments and break the criminal spell that scammers weave.”
Minister of State with Responsibility for Fraud, Lord Sir David Hanson said: “Fraud is a crime that can devastate lives, and anyone can be affected.
“That’s why measures like this are so crucial to provide banks the investigative powers they need to better protect customers from this appalling crime.”
Fraud accounts for over a third of all crime perpetrated in England and Wales, making it the most prevalent form of crime commitment in the country. This has been driven by a growing number of purchase scams and the emergence of so-called ‘romance scams’, where victims target vulnerable people and trick them into transferring large amounts of money by pretending to be interested in a romantic relationship.
The new rules will help protect people against these types of scams by allowing banks up to an additional 72 hours to investigate suspicious payments. Currently banks must either process or refuse a payment by the end of the next business day.
Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, Rocio Concha said: “This is a positive step in the fight against fraud. While it should not affect the vast majority of everyday payments, it’s important that banks can delay a bank transfer and take action if they think a customer is being targeted by a scam.
“These measures should be used in a careful and targeted way. Financial firms of all sizes should also ensure they share intelligence and work with the police and other authorities to shut down accounts used for fraud and pursue the criminals behind them.”
UK Finance Managing Director of Economic Crime, Ben Donaldson said: “UK Finance has long called for firms to be allowed to delay payments in high-risk cases where fraud is suspected, and we are delighted to see proposed new laws supporting this.
“This could allow payment service providers time to get in touch with customers and give them the advice and support they need to avoid being coerced by the criminals who want to steal their money.
“This could potentially limit the psychological harms that these awful crimes can cause and stop money getting into the hands of criminals.”
Banks who have reasonable grounds to suspect a payment is fraudulent will need to inform customers when a payment is being delayed. They will also need to explain what the customer needs to do in order to unblock the payment.
The need for evidence to trigger a delay will help protect people and businesses from unnecessary payment delays. Banks will also be required to compensate customers for any interest or late payment fees they incur as a result of delays.
Restoring trust in politics doesn’t depend on funding or passing laws.
This joint letter signed by, amongst others, Civil Exchange, Transparency International UK, Compassion In Politics, Compass, Make Votes Matter, and the Electoral Reform Society sets out four things Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer can announce to demonstrate that he will clean up politics:
First of its kind charity formed to support people through cyber and fraud crime
A new national charity has been launched to support members of the Scottish public who find themselves victims of a cyber or fraud crime.
The Cyber and Fraud Hub was formed by Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland in response to a rapid increase in calls from concerned members of the public to its incident response helpline a collaboration between leading Scottish cybersecurity organisation the Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland, Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, which was originally set up to support businesses through a cyberattack.
Last year, calls to the Cyber and Fraud Centre incident response helpline doubled, with
60% of calls coming from concerned members of the public seeking advice following a suspected cyber or fraud crime.
Businesses will continue to be supported through the Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland with advice, intelligence and training, while the newly launched Cyber and Fraud Hub will offer tailored support through reporting and legal guidance, victim assistance, and recovering funds as well as improving the public’s understanding of cyber and fraud crime.
The Cyber and Fraud Hub will be the first charity in Scotland to offer this level of bespoke victim and advice support to individuals and will allow a greater number of people to access wraparound support at a time when they are most vulnerable.
The Cyber and Fraud Hub was spearheaded by a dedicated team who gave up their spare time to make the charity a reality. The team includes; Angie Lees, Declan Doyle, John Callagy, Jude McCorry, Alex Dowall and chair, Paul Atkinson.
Jude McCorry, CEO of Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland, said: “I recently saw a quote saying “The Fight against fraud is everyone’s problem, but no one’s priority” and we have seen this play out over the last year.
“In launching the Cyber and Fraud Hub, we have now made it our priority, but we need others, including senior figures in financial services and government, to make it their priority too.
“The Cyber and Fraud Hub will meet a vital need for support for individuals who find themselves in the daunting situation of being a victim of a cyber or fraud crime, the impact of which can be immense, mentally and financially.
“We’ve built strong relationships with our colleagues at Police Scotland and the banking sector to support our business community to be more resilient and we wanted to extend this support to the growing number of individuals who find themselves personally compromised as a result of this growing threat.
“Members of the public require a different type of support to get them through a cyberattack, where they are supported as victims of a crime as well as going through formal criminal proceedings.
“The Cyber and Fraud Hub team have the knowledge, skills and expertise to allow them to listen and provide reassurance as well as the tools to get people back on their feet.”
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Freeburn said: “I am delighted to be appointed as a Trustee of the Cyber and Fraud Hub and have seen at first hand the success of collaborative working to combat fraud and keep people safe in the digital world.
“The Hub will be an invaluable resource and complement the support available from Police Scotland. It will deliver first-class education and partnership programmes to help communities and individuals build resilience against cybercrime and fraud and offer specialised support to those who have become a victim of cybercrime.”
If you, or someone you know, has been a victim of cyber or fraud crime, you can call the Cyber and Fraud Hub on 0800 1670 623, or visit www.cyberfraudcentre.com.
A 54-year-old man has been jailed for seven years following a multi-million pound scam in Edinburgh. Aasim Johar was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh today, Monday, 24 June, 2024.
He was previously found guilty on Friday, 24 May, 2024.
Johar defrauded the University of Edinburgh of over £3.3million between 2005 and 2015 through his role as a salesperson. The fraudulent scheme saw him earn commission through false and over-inflated invoices for cleaning products that were either not delivered or not required.
Detective Sergeant Gary Dalgleish, of the Financial Investigation Unit, said: “The sentence is the result of a long and complex investigation carried out by our officers. We have worked closely with the University and COPFS throughout the investigation and thank them greatly for their assistance.
“We recognise the significant and devastating impact that financial fraud can have on those that fall victim, which makes us all the more determined to identify and prosecute those responsible
“I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage the public to report fraud to us. We are committed to investigating all reports thoroughly and will bring those responsible to justice.”
You can find out more information and advice about fraud on our website here: https://www.scotland.police.uk/advice-and-information/scams-and-frauds/
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury will today (12th March) publish draft legislation which announces new measures to “break the spell” of fraudsters, as part of the UK Government’s Global Fraud Summit.
Under draft legislation published today, payment service providers such as banks will be given more time to contact customers, police, and other relevant parties when they have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty before they send a payment. This gives them a better chance of stopping money being sent to fraudsters.
This legislation will apply to authorised push payments, subject to limited exceptions. The UK has seen an increase in authorised push payment fraud over the past few years – in 2022 victims lost £485m to these scams.
Push payment fraud involves the fraudster deceiving the victim into initiating and authorising a transaction, such as instances of romance fraud where fraudsters have convinced their victim of a romantic attachment, or investment fraud.
Until now, payment service providers, such as banks, have generally been required to process payments by the end of the following business day, giving a very limited timeline to investigate and alert relevant parties to possible fraud.
Today’s legislation will give payment service providers a further 72 hours to investigate payments, but only where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty and more time is needed to contact the customer or other parties like law enforcement. The legislation has been designed to minimise any impact on legitimate payments.
The government intends to lay this legislation before parliament so that it comes into force by October 7th 2024.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami, said:“Fraudsters spin whole webs of lies and fabricate all sorts of things to convince people to send them money – this legislation will give banks, other payment service providers and law enforcement more time to get in touch with victims and break the fraudster’s spell before money is sent.
“The government is absolutely committed to tackling fraud and recognises the impact of this devastating crime on victims – this legislation is another tool in our arsenal to fight fraud.”
As part of the summit, yesterday (11 March) Home Secretary James Cleverly met with ministers from across the G7, Five Eyes, Singapore and South Korea for the first ever Global Fraud Summit.
Each attending nation agreed to a communique which has committed to more collaboration between law enforcement agencies, to protect the public and fight fraudsters.
The summit continues today, with a series of working level meetings between the private sector, civil society and government officials.
A Lothian MSP has asked for constituents to be ‘vigilant’ as reports of insulation scams increase over the winter period.
The calls from Miles Briggs MSP come as reports of home insulation scams are on the rise in Scotland as people try to cut their energy costs, with criminals attempting to exploit this.
The scams are leaving victims out of pocket to the tune of thousands of pounds, with many having to fork out additional money to remove fake insulation such as ‘spray foam insulation’ from lofts and other areas of their properties.
Many victims are lured in by dishonest ‘workers’ who inform them that they are liable to receive benefits and funding from the government while demanding that they pay upfront for the insulation.
As of mid-December 2023, 158 complaints had been received from Scottish consumers regarding insulation scams, a rise of 42 per cent on 2022’s total of 111.
Figures from Trading Standards Scotland suggest that a total of £500,000 has been lost to insulation scams in 2023 from Scottish homeowners, with an average cost of between £4,000 and £8,000 per consumer.
Older people are often the most vulnerable to these scams, particularly when contacted by cold-callers.
Scottish Conservative & Unionist MSP Miles Briggs said: “It is really important that people remain vigilant at this time and look for signs of scammers.
“Unfortunately, many of those involved are highly skilled at deception and can appear incredibly convincing in what they are saying.
“These scams are happening not just in my region of Lothian, but all across Scotland, and are far more present in the cold winter months as consumers seek to limit their energy usage.
“It is important consumers undertake independent research and refrain from engaging with cold callers who offer ‘free’ services.
“It is despicable that bad faith actors are exploiting the concerns of people during a cost-of-living crisis, and absolutely essential that consumers do whatever they can to protect themselves from these criminals.”
