As if COVID-19 hasn’t brought us enough challenges yet, there are now criminals using a range of nasty coronavirus scams targeting the elderly who have to isolate on their own. Human Support Group wants to warn all carers and relatives to keep an eye out for these frauds! We have assembled some information around these practices to have a read through.
Many of these frauds happen over the telephone, door-to-door or through advertisements. Fraudsters can be friendly, sympathetic, and helpful to gain the elderly’s trust. Some of them may, however, use fear tactics to commit the person into signing papers unwillingly or share personal details with them.
An often-used tactic these past few months is the scattering of leaflets from door to door with the offer to de-contaminate your house or do free temperature checks. When given free access to the house, the scammers are free to steal any belongings and might even put you in physical danger.
Online scams are popular too, especially when it comes to buying face masks, hand sanitizer and other products. Many people reported some orders that never arrived, yet their money was taken out of their account. Make sure to use qualified sites for any online orders or offer to buy and stock up on PPE needs for your relatives.
Some fraudsters knock-on doors and offers services such as grocery shopping or virus testing for the elderly and try to trick them into leaving with their money. Tradesmen have been knocking around on doors as well asking for ridiculous sums of money for small repairments around the house. If you are in doubt about those that approached you, it is better not to engage with them and report any suspicious behaviour.
We’ve seen hundreds of community groups being founded over these last few months to help those in need. The majority of these groups are kind and well-intentioned, however, there is a small group of individuals preying on the vulnerable. If they work through a charity, they should be able to prove this. The last thing we want to do is discourage the elderly from seeking help from volunteer groups but we need to keep them informed of these scams to prevent them from becoming a victim.
Being a carer should be more than just physical support, it is about supporting someone mentally and making sure their quality of life is improved. Human Support Group is here to support and communicate with our clients and keep an eye out for any danger. If that sounds like something you would love to do then a care role with HSG is a perfect fit. Find out more here: https://www.humansupportgroup.co.uk/work-with-us/apply-online/
