Agenda item

Safeguarding the Vulnerable from Fraudulent Scams

Presentation by Service Lead – Community Safety Partnership Officer/Harm Risk.

Minutes:

The Service Lead Community Safety Partnership Officer gave the Committee a presentation regarding safeguarding the vulnerable from fraudulent scams, as follows:

· North Devon was the only Local Authority in the South West who had police officers working in their authority, this arrangement enabled effective dialogue and meant community issues were raised with officers

· Courier fraud was currently a prevalent criminal activity, and was usually initiated from a cold caller impersonating a police officer or bank official. The reason for the call would be due to a ‘problem’ with the victim’s bank account and assistance with an ongoing police investigation was required by the victim. Any concerns about what someone was asking you to do should be shared with a family member to talk over why they were being asked to perform the task requested

· It was good practice to question any phone call or email correspondence received

· Neighbourhood alerts was a good way to stay informed. Sign up took a few simple steps by visiting the Devon and Cornwall Police website to access the service

· Recent criminal activity had affected two Devon residents to the sum of £10,000 each. The neighbourhood alert gave information on how to keep safe and resources to link to for further information. It was advised that if you were to suffer from fraud or a scam you should report it via the 101 service by phone or email: 101@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

· The Service Lead Community Safety Partnership Officer advised he would be able to present at Town or Parish Councils and would attend a future Parish Forum event

· The number of internet users in the 16 – 44 age bracket was increasing

· Due to the sheer volume of scam emails sent out it only needed a few victims to succumb for the scammers to be successful

· Further resources available to help keep safe from fraudsters were listed as follows:

(a) Think Jessica – www.thinkjessica.com/

(b) Citizens Advice Bureau – www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

(d) Age UK – https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money- legal/scams-fraud/doorstep-scams/

· It was worth remembering that if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was

· Online scams were a faceless crime – one would never meet the person responsible

· As a priority, scams were not high on the list for the Safer Devon partnership. Not to say there was no interest in the matter just that County Lines, Modern Slavery took precedence

· Getting the message out to the community about staying safe needed constant work

· A number of Bitesize Briefings had been delivered and covered topics of interest, these were usually around an hour to an hour and a half in length and were useful for highlighting areas of concern and what could be done to stay safe. The presentations were given by experts and particularly useful for members who came into contact with members of the public on a daily basis

In response to a question about how frustrating it was to try and use the phone number 101, the Service Lead Community Safety Partnership Officer advised that email was an alternative and gave the email to use as follows: 101@devonandcornwall.pnn.police.uk

Councillor Biederman thanked the Service Lead Community Safety Partnership Officer for his presentation and asked if all forms of cold calling could be stopped. His concern was that the population in Devon was predominately elderly. He proposed that a letter be sent to Government highlighting the concerns North Devon had with all forms of cold-calling and the need for this to be stopped.

The Committee raised concern over the service 101 not adequately working. It was proposed that the Service Lead Community Safety Partnership Officer report back to the Police the need to resolve this.

In response to a question about how the age group who predominantly don’t use the internet could be notified about staying safe Councillor York advised Committee that the annual Council Tax bills to be send out mid-March 2020 would contain leaflets giving advice about avoiding scams.

RESOLVED that a letter be sent to the appropriate Minister raising concerns about cold calling in all its forms and calling for this to be prevented or discouraged, by way of legislation.

RESOLVED that the Service Lead Community Safety Partnership Officer report back to the Police that the 101 phone service was not working adequately and needed to be overhauled.