The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, and Minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, Mims Davies, recently visited the local Centrica office and took part in a Friends Against Scams workshop organised by employees of British Gas. The session highlighted devastating evidence on the impact of scams in the UK, where more than half of people over 65 have been targeted by scammers.
British Gas’s Friends Against Scams programme, in partnership with National Trading Standards, aims to raise awareness amongst staff of all the different types of scams, while training them to identify and support customers who might have fallen victim.
Figures from the Annual Fraud Indicator show that scams cost the UK economy between £5-10bn per year and have considerable human consequence
Commenting on Fridays visit, Eastleigh MP and DWP Minister Mims Davies said:
“Scams are a criminal offence and their impact can be life shattering. Not only can victims lose large sums of money, but also their dignity, which can often lead to stress, depression and isolation.
“Young or old, anyone can become a victim of a scam, so I would encourage people to think about how they can protect themselves and their data. If you are a carer or volunteer looking after an elderly or vulnerable person, be aware of any signs of scams and if you think this is happening, I would urge you to please report it straight to the Police.
“The training was incredibly useful and I think other businesses should consider following the same approach as British Gas by educating staff on how to protect and support customers from scammers.”
Matt Baker, Senior Customer Vulnerability Manager at British Gas said:
“After working to become a dementia friendly organisation it felt natural to build on that by rolling out the Friends Against Scams programme. Many of our customers live alone and face isolation, so if we can help raise awareness of scams and fraud we hope to help our customers better identify the signs of a scam, while supporting scam victims with advice on how to report and prevent the activities of these criminals.”
As Eastleigh’s MP, Mims is always very pleased to support local businesses and organisations, regularly meeting with them across the constituency and representing their views in Westminster.
If you would like Mims to visit you, please contact mims.davies.mp@parliament.uk