Scams Awareness Month 2013

It's Scams Awareness Month 2013 and today we're reminding older people to be on their guard so that they don't fall foul of scams.

We've put together a list of tips to help older people identify and steer clear of scams, as our Safeguarding Manager Louise Hughes explains:

"Scams and cons can seem very convincing but they're all designed to steal your money.

"They can take many different forms - from letters promising you a payout if you send a made-up company an ‘administration fee' to release your winnings, to emails claiming to be from your bank threatening to close your account unless you send them your bank details.

"Many scams are aimed specifically at older people.

"Age Cymru feels it is important that older people know all about scams and cons so that they can be on their guard and avoid being ripped off.

"This is why we're releasing our ‘10 top tips to avoid being scammed' today."  

Age Cymru's 10 top tips to avoid being scammed:

• If it seems too good to be true, it generally is too good to be true;
• If you haven't entered a competition, you can't have won a large cash prize;
• People who are genuine do not ask for money in advance;
• If you are unsure, or it doesn't feel right, don't respond - throw it away, hang up the phone and don't reply to texts or emails;
• Nothing bad will happen if you don't send a so-called psychic any money. They send the same letter to thousands of people telling them the same thing;
• Offers of large amounts of money from abroad are only made to get you to send them to your bank and personal details so they can steal from your account;
• Speak to a friend, relative, local Age Cymru or your local Trading Standards if you are concerned about mail you have received;
• If you are being pressurised to buy on the telephone it is okay to say no and put the phone down;
• Responding to one item of scam mail can and usually does result in up to a hundred items of this kind of mail being sent directly;
• Reduce the scams you receive - join the Telephone Preference Service and the Mailing Preference Service (listed in your telephone directory);