Safeguarding Adults Procedures

130 Annex 3 – Top tips for social care and health practitioners Ensure you are aware of scams There is an excellent on-line training session (which takes no more than 40 minutes to complete) at www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk You could also ask for a member of your local Trading Standards Teams to come and speak at you next local team meeting which will give you a real idea of the work being undertaken locally and how you could link in and support this. Be able to look out for the signs of someone who may be responding to scams Identifying scam victims can be difficult as they:  May be aware of their victim’s status  Are instructed to remain quiet by the criminals  Feel guilt, shame or are in denial  Fear that they will lose their social or financial independence if they tell their friends or family  Don’t want to lose their ‘friendship’ with the criminals There are some key signs to look out for by observing a victim’s behaviour or when visiting their home:  High volume of scam mail  Hoard large quantities of ‘worthless’ goods & cheap ‘tat’  Be living in shocking or unsanitary conditions  Poor personal hygiene  High usage of chequebooks or debit/credit cards  Frequent visits to the Post Office  Not paying bills or buying food  Deceitful about scam protection  Increasing isolation from friends / family  No support from family / friends or anyone to confide in  Receives a high volume of phone calls  Become extremely distressed, angry or aggressive to learn that they are a scam victim  Feel ashamed or embarrassed at what they have not done  After a period of grooming, have strong emotional ties with the scammer