Shielding the old and vulnerable of Angus from all-too-common scams and frauds has denied organised criminals between £1 million and £2 million.
That’s the finding of a Police Scotland report into Operation Carpus, a joint initiative between the police and Angus Council’s trading standards department and adult protection unit that is aimed at protecting and informing those most at risk from being duped by crooks.
The threat of fraudulent schemes, such as prize draws to land investment scams, pervades modern society, whether by post, email, phone, or via a bogus caller at the front door. The money involved can range from a few pounds to the thousands that make up someone’s hard-earned life savings.
The report acknowledged that it was impossible to accurately state how much money is lost to scams by people in Angus each year but officials believed it runs into millions of pounds.
In recent years, there are six known instances where Angus residents have lost their savings, all more than £40,000, with one more than £140,000 and another about £100,000. Nationally, the annual figure lost to scams could be anywhere from £3.5 to £10 billion.
Victims identified through Operation Carpus had collectively lost £155,005. That is believed to be a conservative estimate, particularly when one person said they had lost their home after being conned and there can be a reluctance to report losses because of the embarrassment felt at being caught out.
Serious and organised criminal networks, both on the domestic and international fronts, are behind these mass attacks, using the revenue streams to fund other illegal activity, such as drugs and people trafficking and even international terrorism.
Angus Council was the first local authority to recognise that its vulnerable citizens faced attacks from scammers and developed the Angus Financial Harm Sub-Committee (AFHSC), a partnership involving Angus Council (social work and trading standards services), Police Scotland, voluntary sector partners and businesses, including financial institutions, to assist in protecting adults from financial harm.
The group obtained a so-called “suckers list” (people who were known to be targeted by criminals gangs) of about 200 Angus residents and set about protecting them via Operation Carpus. Full assessment saw the list revised to 111, with the average age of those identified being 72, although one person was 95 years old.
Carpus aims to keep them safe by preventing and disrupting criminal activity, equipping people with advice and information and, where necessary, the support and expertise of partner agencies.
Sergeant Steve Barr, of the community policing team in Angus, said: “It was established that the average amount lost to scams (by those identified on the list) was in the region of £10,000. The majority of individuals tended to have lost small amounts. However, there were a significant number who had lost sums of money in the thousands, with 38% of those scammed reporting values in excess of £1,000.”
Sergeant Barr said these were significant amounts for the victims to lose and could lead to increased stress and illness for them. But he stated that Carpus had achieved positive results.
He said: “Through the intervention activities, 111 people have been protected from these potential losses going forward, which equates to an estimated saving in the region of £1.5m. This total has been added to by further activities of the Angus community officers and partner agencies.”
He cited an attempted pension insurance scam, which would have resulted in the loss of £200,000 and possibly the individual’s home had they not worked with Operation Carpus. Sergeant Barr also recognised that fewer people were being caught out because they recognised the scams thanks to widespread media coverage of the issue.
Operation Carpus continues in Angus, with recommendations that include the development of referral processes for health and financial advice for those in need of such support, as well as continuing to identify emerging scams and those responsible for them.
A council spokesperson said: “While Operation Carpus has been successful, it is vital that we keep up this work to reduce the number of people being exposed to or suffering financial harm and reduce the amount of money lost to fraud and scams.”