Over-60s ‘are targets of ten scams a year’

NEARLY one in five over-60s believes they have been approached more than ten times by scammers in the past year, a survey has found.

The average sum lost by those who had fallen victim to a scam was £401, according to the research, which also revealed that nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of over-60s worry about the threat of fraud.

The study was published by santander, which is staging ‘scam avoidance classes’ in branches from next week for this age group. They are designed to help people identify common frauds and scams.

santander found that 19 per cent of older people believe they have been approached more than ten times by scammers in the past 12 months. Of those, 18 per cent said confusion when using technology made them particularly vulnerable at the point they were cheated.

Feeling vulnerable because of an illness was a common reason why people are worried they might be susceptible to a scam. Eight per cent of victims said being ill at the time meant they let their guard down.

santander says non-customers are welcome at the lessons. Chris Ainsley, the bank’s head of fraud strategy in the UK, said: ‘We hope that with a little bit of scam-avoidance knowledge, our over-60 pupils can feel empowered to stop scammers in their tracks.’