Police have urged older residents in Jesmond to beware of email and telephone scams which are on the rise. During an online conference organised earlier this month by the Elders Council of Newcastle and Friends of Jesmond Library, PC Andrew Hyde of the Northumbria Police community engagement team, said: “There are some simple things you can do to prevent yourself from falling victim. Don’t click on links or attachments contained in emails or text messages.”

The importance of not giving out personal details was emphasised by several conference speakers, who included Kenneth Hines, Newcastle Building Society’s community development manager and Rhian Lukins of Northumbria University’s Project ICE, which runs IT classes for older people.

“Don’t give out personal or financial information. Only buy from reputable websites and use a credit card where possible to afford extra insurance,” said Hyde.

Hines also encouraged attendees to download the latest anti-virus software and change their passwords regularly in case of a security breach.

“We know that scammers will take use of any opportunity to try and make money and can be relentless and persistent in their approach,” said Hyde. “Our role as police officers is to actively pursue the organised criminal groups who orchestrate these crimes and bring them before the courts.”

Attendees expressed concern about fraudulent emails and call from “official sources”. Some reported receiving phone calls from a fake policeman, emails offering vouchers for companies such as Amazon, M&S and Microsoft, as well as texts offering a COVID-19 test or vaccine.

“Remember your bank, the police and other reputable organisations will never ask you to send them money, vouchers or valuables or move it into a ‘safe’ account’,” said Hyde, who urged attendees to contact Northumbria Police or call 999 if they have received suspicious emails or calls from their bank, police or other well-known organisations asking for money. 

The HMRC has reported a 73% rise in email “phishing attacks” since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And according to financial website ThisIsMoney, the number of investment scammers impersonating regulated financial services firms has multiplied in recent years, increasing by 634% since 2010. The website offers this advice on the telltale signs of a scam email:

1) The sender’s address doesn’t match the website address of the organisation it says it’s from. Roll your mouse pointer over the sender’s name to reveal its true address.

2) The email doesn’t use your proper name. It might use something like ‘Dear customer’ instead.

3) There is a sense of urgency, asking you to act immediately.

4) There’s a prominent website link which may seem like the proper address, but with one character different.

5) The email makes a request for personal information.

6) There are spelling and grammatical errors.

7) The entire text of the email is within an image, rather than the usual text format, and the image contains an embedded hyperlink to a bogus site. Again, roll your mouse pointer over the link to reveal its true destination.