THE ELDERLY ARE MOST VULNERABLE TO FRAUD AND SCAMS.
By Detective Inspector Dave Burmingham, Acting-Chairman, Jersey Fraud Prevention Forum
When they got the call from Visa, Islanders Iain and Rena Mclean panicked, and understandably so. Being told that your credit card has been compromised would evoke that reaction in anyone.
According to the caller, someone had tried to use the pensioners’ card to buy a gold watch but the bank had recognised the fraudulent activity and prevented it. Advised to contact Visa’s fraud division to resolve the matter, 83 year old Iain dutifully hung up and dialled the emergency number on the back of his credit card. What he didn’t realise was that the fraudsters were still on the end of the line.
Believing he was speaking with the fraud department, Iain willingly gave his security information when asked. After several failed attempts to access the couple’s money while on the phone, the scammers then advised the Mclean’s to go to their local branch and transfer their funds to a ‘secure’ account – the scammers’ account.
Again, trusting they had been contacted by legitimate bank employees, the pensioners did as they were told and at the
Page 40 An Ageing Island
branch transferred the £6,200 from their account. It was only a chance meeting with their bank manager, who recognised the McLean’s distress, that raised the alarm. Thanks to his swift action, the couple’s money was returned to them within a matter of weeks. Two years later, the scammers – who conned vulnerable people out of a combined £1.3 million - were caught and jailed for a total of 24 years.
Iain and Rena were lucky. But the experience was still incredibly stressful for them, faced with the prospect of losing their savings. Years after the experience, Rena still feels the effects: “How could we have been so gullible? I always thought I was pretty smart. That made me feel old; that we had allowed this to happen. I think I aged by about ten years. It certainly did shatter us. You get to the stage where you don’t trust anybody.”
And they are not alone in feeling this way. 50% of people who
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