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Care provider offers advice to elderly to avoid scams and fraudsters
| Published: 31st July 2020 14:08 |
STAFF at an award-winning Welsh care provider are (August 2020) offering free advice to the elderly on avoiding scams and fraudsters during the current climate.
Abacare says the elderly are some of the most vulnerable people to fall victim to fraudsters and, according to National Trading Standards, 85% of victims of doorstep scams are aged 65 or over.
Caroline Jones, Regional Manager at Abacare, which provides care across Wales, said: “Due to the current climate, there is a lot of uncertainty in the world and there have been lots of new scams cropping up that exploits this.
“Recent scams have included medical kits that aim to prevent or cure Coronavirus and counterfeit or unsafe medical supplies such as hand sanitiser and swabbing kits. There’s also been a rise in financial scams including phone calls from people pretending to be banks or mortgage providers.
“The old fashioned online and doorstep scams, such as people posing as charity collectors or salesmen and phishing emails, are also still prevalent, so people should always be alert.
“Everyone should be aware of potential scams. It is extremely important that people, particularly the elderly, understand that their bank or mortgage provider would never phone and ask for personal details or money.
“If you or an elderly loved-one receives a knock at the door from anyone you don’t know, you should ask for ID, or if you are not expecting anyone, simply don’t answer it. Especially during the current social distancing restrictions.
“There are lots of genuine volunteers providing food and essentials for the elderly and vulnerable at the moment. They should provide ID or should be a trusted family member or friend.”
Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.
The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive based outcomes and person-centred care to people throughout the UK.
Abacare’s core values, instilled into every staff member, include ‘make us proud’, ‘focus on our service users’ wellbeing’, ‘communicate, listen well and speak with respect’, ‘be passionate, honest, caring and considerate’, ‘recruit and develop the very best’ and ‘lead by example’.
Caroline added: “Everyone should be wary of unexpected emails and don’t click on links in attachments. Always go to the organisation’s website to check correct information and contact details. Unsolicited texts asking about an accident or PPI and emails requesting money be sent abroad are becoming a regular occurrence for mobile and internet users. Ignore and delete immediately.
“You can register phones via the Telephone Preference Service and stop unwanted mail via the Mail Protection Service.
“Most importantly, you should trust your instincts. If anyone makes an offer that is simply too good to be true, it probably is and therefore is probably a scam.
“If you can, look out for signs of neighbours in your community being targeted by doorstep criminals.”
Abacare believes it offers inspiring work for inspirational people as well as a flexible and supported working environment.
Caroline continued: “We are looking for kind, honest, caring and reliable individuals who wish to have a stable and long-term career in care, and who would like to forge rewarding relationships with the service users they care for. No experience is necessary to become a carer, as free, full training is given.
“We can provide our free, full training on a fast-track basis to make sure everyone we take on is ready. This includes a company induction, first aid, information on dementia, health and safety, food safety, infection control, handling medication and moving and handling service users, with the opportunity to achieve Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) after the initial three months probationary period. The Government has also taken steps to ensure a quicker turnaround on DBS checks, so people can get into work quicker.
“New recruits are given free uniforms, access to national staff discount scheme for all major brands as well as 28 days paid holiday, paid travel between calls and paid mileage.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is looking for a change of career or someone who just fancies a bit of a change. Being a carer is an extremely rewarding job and you get to meet lots of wonderful people too.”
Anyone interested should contact their local branch and details of these can be found at https://abacare.org.uk/contact-us. People can also find out more information about job vacancies at www.indeed.com/cmp/Abacare.
Abacare is a member of the United Kingdom Homecare Association, Ceretas (formerly British Association of Domiciliary Care), The National Homecare Council and The Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection). It is also registered with the Care Inspectorate Wales.
For more information or to enquire about a position at Abacare, please visit www.abacare.org.uk or www.indeed.com/cmp/Abacare. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook at http://bit.ly/2S5LDgb or on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/visitabacare.
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