BEHIND THE HEADLINES: Protecting Gwent's elderly from scammers

TWO years ago, pensioner Margaret Smeed from Abergavenny never expected she would become the victim of a scam which would con her out of several hundred pounds.

But a fortnight after the 79-year-old bought a £30 box of chocolates from a postal catalogue, she began receiving mysterious parcels she had not ordered.

An umbrella, screwdrivers and a pair of boots were among the un-requested items sent to her door, along with a box full of Easter eggs and bunnies that she received just weeks before Christmas.

It was only when Ms Smeed checked her bank balance that she realised separate payments were being taken out of her account amounting to £300, and there was no company address provided which she could contact to cancel the payments.

Sadly, Ms Smeed is just one of many elderly people across Gwent who have been targeted by scammers, who often manage to get away with the con.

Earlier this month cash and cheques were seized from a PO Box address known to be used by scammers, which found the names of 183 people from Blaenau Gwent on a ‘sucker list’ of vulnerable people likely to respond to scam mail.

And across the UK, around £3.5 billion of individuals’ money is estimated to be lost every year to scammers, with Age Cymru revealing some people in Wales have received up to 70 junk letters a day.

Gerry Keighley, campaigns co-ordinator for Age Cymru, said there were almost 2,500 scams reported to Trading Standards in Wales in 2012-13, but these figures are likely to be vastly under-reported.

The Office of Fair Trading estimates only five per cent of scams are actually reported, meaning as many as 50,000 scams could have been committed, with average losses per scam of £1,200.

Mr Keighley said: “Unfortunately, Margaret’s story is all too common. Scammers are ruthless parasites without a trace of conscience.

“Their major tactic is to target vulnerable people and wear them down, as in this case.”

Despite efforts to increase elderly people’s awareness of the tricks used, Sally Rivers, head of operations at the Royal Voluntary Service said scammers are getting ever-more advanced in their methods to swindle money.

Internet scams have now been added to the list of scams most commonly used, including doorstep, postal and telephone scams – all which happen in Gwent.

In July this year, South Wales saw one of its biggest doorstep scams when four rogue traders were sentenced for conning elderly and vulnerable people out of more than £70,000. Two were jailed and two received suspended sentences after admitting conspiracy to defraud.

In a joint operation by South Wales and Gwent Police, trading standards and Newport Council, the men were arrested after complaints about their shoddy workmanship and intimidating tactics towards older victims.

Postal scams, meanwhile, are faceless and usually employ fake lotteries or non-existent prize draws asking for an upfront fee, pyramid scams and clairvoyants.

People who respond to these scams are often put on a ‘suckers list’ and end up receiving more and more junk mail, with the danger of becoming involved in more scams.

Scams via telephone often involve the con artists pretending to be from a bank or building society before asking for the householder’s bank details, while internet scams advertise fake job opportunities or emails from fictitious people.

Disabled pensioner Hilda Barwell, from Ebbw Vale, was nearly the victim of a telephone scam two weeks ago when a lady rang up asking how much money she had in her bank account.

The 85-year-old former community group leader said: “My brain is pretty flash, it’s not slow, and I said that’s private information and I don’t tell people that on the phone. But you have to be so careful.”

Both scam victims Ms Barwell and Ms Smeed agreed that despite good efforts being made in recent years, more awareness is needed on the various scams used.

Ms Barwell said: “I don’t think there’s enough awareness about scammers. Older people are not necessarily vulnerable, but we still need to be aware.”

Ms Smeed, who is still at a loss of £100 despite receiving remuneration from the bank, said: “I was a pensioner on a limited income, and although I’m elderly I’m not daft.

“Even now I have letters coming through the door from the same company. I do think there should be more information spread around about the issue.”

Charities, local authorities and trading standards are working in Gwent to put in place ongoing measures to tackle the problem, both on the ground by raising awareness and targeting legislators and politicians.

Mr Keighley said increasing awareness is one way to cut down on scams, but it is not fail-safe.

“Awareness campaigns do actually reach a large number of people but it doesn’t reach all people, that’s impossible.”

Age Cymru’s Scams and Swindles campaign, fronted by Mr Keighley, is at the forefront of the drive to fight scammers, and their work led to a debate in Parliament in October last year.

“We have had a great response from a lot of politicians. We have to try and influence Westminster politicians, the Welsh assembly, police chiefs and financial institutions. It’s a very wide campaign.“There’s a big grey area with scam mail where you have these direct marketing catalogues which are misleading. They are not strictly speaking illegal. What we would like to see are the legislators looking at the activities of these misleading companies.“

Launched in July last year, the Scams and Swindles campaign is also now pushing for the Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities to consider dramatically increasing the number of ‘No Cold Calling Zones’ to protect older people from rogue traders.

The charity also wants to see telephone and internet companies offering more protection against scam phone calls and emails, especially from abroad, and blocking access and closing lines from persistent offenders.

Perhaps the best breakthrough against postal scams in recent months was the announcement by the Royal Mail and Trading Standards they will be launching a new joint operation to tackle scam mail.

The initiative, launched in September, means Trading Standards will alert the Royal Mail when they identify fraudulent companies behind the scams, so their contract can be cancelled.

From next month workers across South Wales will be given training in identifying suspect mail as well as tips on how to spot a potential victim of scams.

Rhys Jones, spokesman for the Royal Mail, said: “We have always had a plan to check for scam mail but recently we’ve moved towards a more robust procedure and have been working more closely with Trading Standards.

“The purpose of the training is to provide our staff with clearer guidelines on what scam mail could look like and what they can do if they feel an address is being targeted.

“But of course scam mail can come in so many guises; the whole point of the scam is to appear not to be one which is why you see such blatant examples of scam mail.

“There may be a whole host of reasons why it could be a legitimate piece of mail. It’s very, very complex.”

The problem comes, he said, because of Royal Mail’s universal service obligation to deliver mail, meaning contracts with potentially fraudulent companies cannot be cancelled based on limited evidence.

“We do not want any of our customers to be harmed by scams. However, what we can’t do is ask postal workers to make decisions about what is and what is not scam mail and we cannot take any action that might delay or otherwise interfere with the mail.”

Chris Evans, MP for Islwyn, welcomed the news. He said: “The new initiative by Royal Mail and Trading Standards can be a major step forward in disrupting mail scammers and protecting many vulnerable people and their families.

“I urge all my constituents to keep a watchful eye for scam mail and report any mail they suspect of being fraudulent.

“Scammers often use cleverly worded traps to defraud people of their money; causing anxiety and distress to many people.”

Sally Rivers said the services her volunteers provide means that elderly people have a friendly network they can turn to if they think they might be being scammed.

The head of operations said: “Often victims feel embarrassed, but the network we provide is an extension to the family so people feel they can report potential scammers.

“They do feel very vulnerable. We advise people to have a second opinion and to take time out before responding to potential scam mail. Don’t just fill it in and send it back in the post.

“If someone’s genuine they will not ask for money up front, and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.”

The advice seems simple, but the scammers are clever. Underestimating the sophistication of the scams is to embarrass the victim, failing to solve the problem.

But as more cases come to light and a new initiative has been launched to crack down on the problem, it seems clear there are measures in place to help scam victims – both prevention and support.