More than £7.5 million saved in fight against scams
More than £7.5 million has been saved in the fight against scams in the last three years across Dudley.
Bosses say that since Dudley Council’s scams unit was set up at the end of 2018, it has supported hundreds of people who have been targeted by scammers.
People targeted are often older, lonely and vulnerable and criminals know they are more likely to be susceptible to financial scams.
The team has also had to adapt its work through the course of the pandemic as more people of all ages have been targeted – many with Covid related scams.
By intervening, the unit has calculated that it has prevented more than £7.5 million being lost to this type of crime.
Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council's cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: "Since the unit launched, it has supported hundreds of people who have been targeted by scammers. In some cases, it has helped people argue their case and receive reimbursement from their bank.
"It’s also installed call blockers in hundreds of homes helping to significantly reduce or stop the number of cold calls and potential scams people receive.
"This acts as a fantastic preventative measure.
"£7.5million is a staggering amount to prevent being lost but is all too telling on the persistence of financial criminals in our borough.
"The scams unit will continue to investigate and fight financial crime and continually adapt to respond to new scams as they emerge."
The unit was set up using the government’s improved better care fund, to tackle the growing issue of financial crime in the borough.
Its primary aim is to prevent people from being targeted and conned out of cash by financial criminals.
