Britain is a country with callous scams designed to get old men to part with their money

Britain's Insolvency Service has warned old men and women and their carers to beware because :

*  bogus retail and investment schemes are aimed at them and 78 rogue companies which raked in over £28million from the public have been shut down and in England and Wales in the last three years which  scammed 2,000 investors with the oldest aged 92.

* 49 of the companies sold plots of land for ‘building’ that either didn’t exist or were on protected green belt land'

* 4 sold wine stocks that did not yield any profits.

*  6 sold retail products that were either unsuitable or at highly inflated prices, including burglar alarms, mobility scooters, ‘heritage’ coins and stair-lifts.

* the scams typically employ the telephone equivalent of ‘door-stepping’, phoning old men and women and often refusing to come off the phone until they have closed a sale.
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The Government Business Minister, Norman Lamb said:

“These scams are especially bad as they target some of the most vulnerable members in our society. Older people have grown up trusting other people. To take advantage of this trust, and then exploit it is both manipulative and deceitful.
I support the work Insolvency Service and its partners are doing to warn older people, and would urge people to be vigilant when approached to make investments out of the blue.”

Robert Burns, 'Head of Investigation and Enforcement' for The Insolvency Service said:

“We have observed a number of companies targeting older people in recent months. These scams are particularly unpleasant because they target the most susceptible members of society, older people who may be unsure how to seek advice or afraid to say “no”. They can destroy lives at a time when those targeted should be taking a break from worry and enjoying life after working hard.
Victims are paying for something and getting nothing. The worst aspect is the callousness with which the fraudsters go about their business; ignoring the obvious fact that that because of their age, most victims will never be able to make good their loss.

Today is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and we would urge all friends, carers and family members to be vigilant and look out for the older members of their family to ensure that they are not scammed by rogue businessmen.”

'Age UK' have produced two free information guides ‘Avoiding Scams’ and ‘Staying Safe’ which provide practical steps to ensure older people are able to protect themselves against this type of crime in their home and on their doorstep.”

From the Alzheimer’s Society is also campaigning against the financial abuse of people with dementia.

Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society said:

“There are currently 800,000 people living with dementia in the UK. Many are older people and easy targets for con artists. It is disgusting that these scams specifically target the most vulnerable in our society. Con artists are dealing another blow to people who may already be struggling financially due to the huge cost of care. Everyone from banks to the general public needs to work together to stop these scams and help protect those who need it most.”
Gary FitzGerald, Chief Executive of Action on Elder Abuse, said:

“Research tells us that over 342,000 older people face abuse in our communities every day. They are too often seen as an easy target by unscrupulous people out to make ’easy money’ and it is therefore crucially important that we are all vigilant in their defence. Families play an important part in helping older people to protect themselves against fraudsters, and a little bit of planning ahead can make all the difference.”