Spot the signs

Financial hardship

Scam victims may suffer financial hardship after spending their money (sometimes their entire life savings) on responding to scams. They may stop paying utility bills in order to have more money to spend on scams.

There is not much on the kitchen cupboards.

Self-neglect

Scam victims may neglect to look after themselves or their homes properly. This may be due to financial hardship or a lack of time as a result of responding to scams.

What is in the sink?

Doorstep Scam

Scam victims may have repeat visits from doorstep criminals carrying out unnecessary or poor quality work for extortionate fees.

Who is at the door?

Scam mail

Scam victims will often receive more mail than usual. The letters will often have foreign post marks as many scams come from abroad.

What has the postman brought?

Isolation

Scam victims may respond to scams because they are lonely and experience social isolation. This could be because they are geographically isolated but could also be because their family live far away or because they are living with a physical or mental health issue.

Just one chair?

SMS message

Scam victims may receive a suspicious SMS text message or an email requesting that they follow a link or open an attachment which may not be genuine.

Did something just come in on the mobile?

Stamps and chequebooks

Scam victims may get through more cheque books than normal; they may also buy and use more stamps due to the high number of letters that they are sending when they respond to scams.

What is on the desk?

Romance scam

Romance scam victims may send money to a person who they met online. They may have conducted their relationship entirely by email and phone and have never met the other person. The criminals use emotional manipulation to extort money.

What have they been looking at on the computer?

Telephone Scams

Victims of Telephone scams may receive many phone calls a day and make regular payments over the phone. They may feel that the people calling them are friends as the criminals are the only people they have regular contact with.

Is that the telephone ringing?

Lots of low quality products

Scam victims may have lots of low quality beauty or food products around the home. They may also have 'free gifts' or 'lucky' objects sent from clairvoyant scams, such as pendants, badges and items that are supposedly for protection.

There are a lot of boxes around.

Self-neglect

Scam victims may neglect to look after themselves or their homes properly. This may be due to financial hardship or a lack of time as a result of responding to scams.

What is outside of the window?