A Bournemouth University department has teamed up with the National Scamming Unit to create a safeguarding toolkit to help protect vulnerable adults from scamming.
The National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work (NCPQSW) at Bournemouth University was at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) Conference in Bournemouth to launch the toolkit and present to CTSI delegates about how to look after vulnerable adults in scamming situations.
The toolkit, which will be rolled out across the UK, looks to safeguard adults who may be susceptible to internet, mass marketing, telesales and door-to-door scamming, something that the National Scamming Unit was set up to help combat.
Professor Keith Brown, Director of the NCPQSW, also presented at the conference alongside Louise Baxter of the National Scamming Unit, talking to delegates about the importance of safeguarding in their line of work and using case studies to evidence what can be done to help.
Professor Brown said during his talk, “Sometimes there are seminal moments in society where we wake up and realise the scale of the problems we face as a society. Trading Standards are aware of the scale, but now it is time for the public to see the sheer scale and negative impact that scamming has in the UK every day.
“This [scamming] is a big problem that really adversely affects the lives of people – it needs to be communicated and people like us, both the University and CTSI, are here to help find solutions, raise awareness, and protect people from the kind of scamming going on online and in our streets every day.”
Professor Brown also held a drinks reception at the conference, attended by influencers, councils, charities and organisations all interested in learning more about safeguarding, and the toolkit.
The NCPQSW team will continue to work with the National Scamming Unit in the coming months, researching the benefit of early intervention in scamming, as well as the financial cost of supporting the Scamming Unit’s safeguarding work. They will also continue to develop good practice guidelines and advice for professionals working with the victims of scammers to ensure that their work can continue to be successful.
