Elderly Warned About Financial Scams

Amid warnings for older people to be on their guard it has been revealed that 78 rogue companies that mainly targeted the elderly and "scammed" more than £28m have been shut down in the past three years

The warning was issued by the Insolvency Service, which said thousands of people, some in their 80s and 90s, had been targetted by companies selling everything from non-existent plots of land and worthless shares to mobility scooters, "heritage" coins, burglar alarms and stairlifts.

Some victims have lost five- or even six-figure sums. A man in his 70s lost £100,000 to a company specialising in coins as an investment that was found to have sold coins it didn't own, and also sold the same item to more than one customer.

Robert Burns, head of investigation and enforcement for the Insolvency Service, which has joined forces with charities Age UK and Action on Elder Abuse to draw attention to these scams, said: "The worst aspect is the callousness with which the fraudsters go about their business, ignoring the obvious fact that because of their age, most victims will never be able to make good their loss."

(H)