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June 2021

DORSET TRADING STANDARDS

Dorset County Council Trading Standards Service check and
approve businesses so you don’t have to.
For more information visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or
call 08454 040506.
To report or seek advice about problems you have
experienced when dealing with a trader call 08454 040506.

Helping you to recognise a scam
Scams can affect us all, but certain types of scams are more likely to target
people by age. If you recognise your age group, then you may recognise a
scam.
‘Young people’ aged 18 to 24 don’t represent the largest group of people falling
victim to scams, but numbers of scam victims in this group is rising. In particular,
young people are a growing proportion of victims of online and identity fraud.
Having grown up with technology they are often confident in their ability when
using the internet. This can lead to them feeling that they are unlikely to fall for
internet scams, making them complacent and increasingly vulnerable. Research
shows that over half of young people are unlikely to report scams.

‘Life established’ people in their 40s to 60s are the group most affected by scams.
Part of this is due to the fact that they are most likely to report scams, but also
because certain demographics within this group are targeted due to their
circumstances. For example, this group tends to be more settled and has access
to financial assets. This
makes them more
likely to be targets of
scams, such as
p e n s i o n sc a ms ,
dating scams and
property scams.
‘Older people’, over
70s, are often
t a r g e t e d b y
scammers. Research
has found that 75 is
the average age of
reported scam victims
and those over 70
suffer the highest
detriment. Older

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