Scams Awareness & Aftercare
Last year in Cheshire, 5,281 people reported being scammed, costing them over £20 million.
Scammers are criminals who commit fraud. They target older people more than any other group.
This project helps older people to be resilient against scams and provide advice and support to victims of fraud.
Our award winning project now operates across the whole of the Cheshire East borough.
Click on the blue crosses below to find out more about our work
What is the Older Persons Scams Awareness and Aftercare project?
Scammers often work in teams and target the same person with several different scams. The scam might be a phone call, text, email, letter, or someone knocking on your front door.
Age UK Cheshire East are partnering with Cheshire East Council's Trading Standards Team to raise awareness of scams and doorstep crime amongst local older people, and support those who have been scammed to not become a repeat victim.
What does the project offer?
We offer a range of services to groups and individuals:
Personal scams advice sessions – These are tailored to the client’s needs, giving information on how to spot, avoid and report scams. These sessions are free and can take place in your home, online over zoom, or in your local community centre or library.
Support for people who have been a victim of scams and fraud - Being scammed can seriously affect a person’s quality of life and wellbeing. If you have been targeted by a scammer, you should never be afraid or embarrassed to speak up. Older people defrauded in their own homes are 2½ times more likely to either go into residential care or die or within a year. However, 84% of victims who have received support afterwards report feeling safer and more confident.
We offer one-to-one support to older people who have been victims of scams. This could range from a phone call to reinforce scams awareness and safety tips, to a programme of support to help build confidence and enable the individual to re-engage in the community.
Community talks – We deliver free talks to groups to raise awareness of scams and fraud, and how to protect yourself from them.
Scams awareness update bulletin – this monthly newsletter has a featured fraud and alerts to current frauds in the area. It is free to anyone who has an email address. You also get a bonus of our monthly Age UK Cheshire East newsletter too!
To book any of our services, please give us a call on 01625 612958 or email us. Click here to subscribe to our scams awareness update bulletin. We are happy to hear from older people directly or take referrals from agencies.
Special multi-ageny scams awareness events - click here to watch our video of our 2023 event.
How can I get involved?
Become a Scams Awareness Volunteer: We have a team of Scams Awareness Champions who help us deliver our services.
Our Champions:
- Share fraud awareness information in the local community.
- Prepare resources for fraud awareness sessions.
- Help out and talk to people at fraud awareness sessions.
- Visit older people to raise their awareness of fraud.
If you would like to be part of the team, there’s more information on our volunteering pages.
Useful Resources
We are collaborating with our project partners and the wider community to develop a resource bank to raise awareness of scams and how to tackle them. Please feel free to use the resources with your interest group, family, friends and colleagues to support scams awareness. All we ask is you use them in their current format so the original author is acknowledged.
Help to manage finances & avoid scams for people at risk and those who support them
Staying Safe from Romance Fraud
Phone Scammers Numbers Up (Nat West)
Scams Awareness Poster (AUKCE)
Scams Awareness Monthly Bulletins
To keep you up-to-date our work, we will be regularly publishing these handy bulletins, giving you vital information about scams and doorstep crime, and how to avoid becoming a victim.
This project is part of Age UK’s Scams Prevention and Support Programme. It is kindly sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group and
