A LLANELLI MAN who lost his life savings of £75,000 in a diamond scam, and a man from Ammanford who was conned out of £40,000 for fake vitamin supplements were among a number of fraud victims in the county last year.
Elderly and vulnerable people in Carmarthenshire have been conned out of hundreds of thousands of pounds in the last year alone, according to the Council’s Trading Standards team.
The team is warning people to be on their guard against scammers, and asking people to look out for the welfare of elderly relatives, neighbours and friends.
This warning message was released as part of National Safeguarding Day, which took place on Monday (Feb 29), when Trading Standards teams across the country joined forces to raise awareness of scams.
Other fraud victims include an elderly Carmarthenshire resident conned out of £90,000 for substandard home improvements, a Burry Port man conned out of £50,000 in bogus lotteries; a St Clear’s woman who lost £4,500 in a series of scam prize draws; an elderly Carmarthenshire resident who lost over £120,000 to a combination of holiday club, timeshare and boiler room investment scam, and an elderly Ammanford resident who was prevented from sending £14,000 to a bogus lottery in Costa Rica.
The scams came to light through the national Scams Hub, and also through the Financial Exploitation Safeguarding Scheme (FESS) – a multi-agency scheme established by Carmarthenshire Trading Standards in 2014.
It is the first of its kind in Wales, and works not only to prevent fraud and identify victims but also protects them from further exploitation by putting support in place from social care and housing teams.
All Halifax and Barclays branches in the county are members of the scheme, as are every Citizens Advice Bureau in Carmarthenshire.
Staff have received specialist training to help them recognise the signs of financial abuse, and if they believe one of their customers is a victim, they refer them to Trading Standards for an immediate intervention, which may also involve the police.
Cllr Jim Jones, Executive Board Member for Public Protection at Carmarthenshire County Council, said: “National Safeguarding Day is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of scams, and the kind of tactics fraudsters will use to commit their crimes.
“We are proud that here in Carmarthenshire we are making it more difficult than ever for the scammers by investing Proceeds of Crime Act funds into innovative schemes such as FESS to identify, protect and support victims.”
He added: “If anyone is concerned that they are a victim, or believe that someone they know could be a victim, please act quickly to get advice and support.
“We will work tirelessly to uncover fraudsters and help bring them to justice.”
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