
3 minute read
Becoming scamwise
I recently joined a Facebook group of former recruits of the police training centre I attended in Ashford in Kent. It’s a real trip down memory lane. There are photographs of former colleagues and reminiscences of some of the funnier moments of police training.
The training I received in 1997 would probably be described as old fashioned now. It was all about breaking up fights in pubs, dealing with soccer hooligans, locking up burglars and attending the scene of what we called then ‘road traffic accidents’. It was all about crime that took place in the public space.
What I don’t recall was any mention of computers, the internet, fraud or the use of IT as a means of committing crime. In my day, the sawn-off shotgun was still the preferred weapon of choice of the criminal who wanted to take as much money from you as possible.
Police recruits these days will have a very different experience of training. They still learn the same basics of the law as I did. But they will also learn about crime that takes place in the private sphere: online grooming, child sexual exploitation, human trafficking and scams.
All of these crimes that take place behind closed doors present a real and growing risk to society, typically because the victims are vulnerable. Not least among them is scams, due to the sheer volume of those attempted every day and the amounts of money people lose. And this is money, in all likelihood, a victim will never get back.
The facts
There is no precise definition of a scam. In legal terms, it’s a fraud, a way of taking money from a person by some sort of deception. Although there is no precise definition, there are some cold hard facts about scams you should know about. Scams do not just affect the old or the naïve. There is a scam out there with your name on it, whether you are a student or a septuagenarian. Scammers target various age and interest groups, not least holidaymakers, eBay shoppers, online bargain hunters, investors, and those looking for love.
Scams don’t just happen online. There are lots of ways you can be scammed: through your phone line, the post, or on your doorstep. Some of the most effective scams come through the phone line and the scam that gathers the most money for the criminal is the call they make pretending to be from your phone or broadband company.
Scammers are not lovable rogues just trying to make a few pounds. Most scamming these days is organised crime. There are call centres set up solely for the purposes of crime and they make calls on an industrial scale. It’s the same with mail fraud. Criminals send many thousands of scam mail items through our postal system.
You won’t always get your money back if you have been a victim of a scam. Banks and other financial instructions will decide on a case by case basis if a victim is to receive a refund. In my experience, many victims are left out of pocket to the tune of many thousands. It’s not uncommon for a victim’s bank account to be cleared completely.
Scams are increasingly sophisticated. Unfortunately, the ingenuity of the scammers is sometimes breathtaking, as they try to stay one step ahead of victims and law enforcement.
Protect yourself
Despite the persistence of the scammers and their sophistication, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself.
First, become scamwise. Like and follow the ScamwiseNI Facebook page or go to our site on NI Direct where there is information about current scams and how to avoid these. If you are not online, speak to your minister who will know someone that can advise you how to stay safe.
Second, apply the Scam Test to any email, letter or phone call that you receive and you are not 100% sure is genuine:
S – Seems too good to be true
C – Comes out of the blue
A – Asks for personal details
M – Money is requested.

Third, don’t be rushed. Scammers will try and create a crisis or rush you into making a decision. When people are rushed, they often make poor judgments.
Fourth, take advice. Speak to a trusted friend if you are concerned about a letter, email or phone call and think it might be a scam. Or go to your local post office whose staff are trained to identify scams.
And the last thing is – be a good friend. If you know someone in your congregation who might be vulnerable or doesn’t have ready access to information about scams, speak to them about scams and what to look out for. If you can spot a scam you can stop a scam!
Simon Walls is the T/Chief Superintendent of District Policing Command