Older adults in the UK, particularly those over the age of 75, are experiencing an unprecedented number of attempted telephone frauds, according to an academic study.
Research over 18 months with nearly 2,000 participants found that at least two-thirds of the respondents reported experiencing at least one fraud attempt in the past six months, with up to 40 per cent facing frequent attempts, occurring daily, weekly, or monthly. Nearly 75 per cent of the attempted frauds were via telephone, 60 per cent through voice calls and 11 per cent via text messages. Other methods like email, post, and social media were used less frequently.
Study author is Prof Mark Button, pictured, Director of the Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Portsmouth. He said: “It was interesting to see how older technologies like landline telephones are still being used on an industrial scale to conduct frauds. These telephone calls have become for some older adults something they experience on a daily or weekly basis. Even though many older adults understand these are frauds and quickly hang up, for some, these attempts have significant impacts.
“Our study reveals this impact has not yet been seriously investigated. More research needs to be conducted to explore the impact of attempted frauds on individuals’ fear of crime and quality of life among all age groups.”
The study was published in the International Review of Victimology. Many respondents expressed a constant state of suspicion and fear. One noted the highly pervasive nature of the scams, saying, “I receive suspected scam telephone calls on landline and mobile on average twice per day… I have come to suspect everybody.”
Another emphasised the relentless pressure these calls created, saying, “I get about five calls every day saying money taken out of my bank. I wish I could block them”. Another respondent described the frustration of dealing with persistent postal scams: “I regularly have post office scams to say they have a parcel for me… they want your bank details to pay for it. It’s a nuisance.”
The study also revealed a significant lack of trust in unexpected communications, particularly via telephone. This distrust extends to unfamiliar emails and unexpected postal notifications. Many older adults expressed reluctance to engage with such communications. One said: “I’m always nervous about cold or strange phone calls – I normally give as good as I get – the same with strange emails. I just delete. I think I can handle post. If in doubt, I speak to one of my daughters.” Another said: “It still leaves me very wary, especially phone calls not listed in my phone and people at the door. It’s quite frightening to see how clever the scammers are. I do not have any telephone banking etc.”
