ELDERLY North East Lincolnshire residents are being warned to beware of cold callers following a spate of unsolicited phone calls offering financial advice.
Age UK issued the warning after concerned residents alerted them and the Grimsby Telegraph to the issue, in the hope of preventing vulnerable people from falling victim to any potential scam.
The alarm was raised by two worried locals, who did not wish to be named, who said they had been called by an unknown firm offering financial advice regarding losing assets if they were placed in a care home.
The firm then tried to book an appointment for a financial adviser to visit them at their home the following day.
The concerned residents said the caller knew their names and some other personal details, which they feared may lull some people into a false sense of security.
A spokesman for Age UK said the risks of people being duped by cold callers was very concerning.
He said: "The phone calls and visitors raises real concerns for us and our customers.
"We would advise older people to never accept a cold call from anyone requesting a visit to their homes to discuss home care fees and funding."
He added such issues should be discussed with North East Lincolnshire Council's adult social care team, who would never cold-call.
He said: "This is a very complicated system and Age UK has recently launched a new information and advice service.
"We would always advise anyone with a query to drop in."
An open event for those wishing to discuss welfare, benefits, money matters, social care, housing, local services and support, will be held on Friday, June 14, from 10am to 2pm at Age UK's Osbourne Street centre.
Alternatively, call the charity on 01472 344976 or NELC's social care team on 01472 256256.
There are steps you can take to stop cold callers. Here are our top ten tips: Register for free with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). UK-based companies must not make unsolicited sales and marketing calls to TPS-registered phone numbers, even if the call centre is overseas. To register with the TPS, call 0845 070 0707 or go to the TPS website. Which? research has found that signing up to the TPS cuts cold calls by around a third. However the TPS won't stop scams, market research calls, calls from companies where you have 'opted in' or calls from companies based abroad. If you want to opt out of receiving most junk mail via the Mail Preference Scheme (MPS) at the same time, go to the StayPrivate website. Both the TPS and MPS are free – if a company ever asks you to pay for this service, refuse and inform the TPS. Go ex-directory Some companies, particularly local businesses, may use online or paper phone books to find phone numbers to target with sales calls. Ask for your phone number to be excluded from directories – this will stop companies from finding out your number in this way. Keep your name off sales call lists – Data protection laws prohibit companies from calling you for marketing purposes if you've asked them not to, even if you're a customer. If you must provide your phone number to a company, for example when signing up to a new service or buying a product online or on the phone, ask the company not to call you for marketing purposes or pass your number on to third parties. Carefully check the marketing 'opt out/opt in' boxes to see if ticking or unticking them will prevent calls from the company itself or from third parties. If it doesn't, directly ask the company not to call you for sales and marketing purposes. Contact companies you already receive unwanted sales calls from and ask to be removed from their call lists. Companies should abide by verbal requests but it's a good idea to put your request in writing too so there is a formal record. Screen your phone calls – If you have caller display and an answer phone, consider only answering calls from numbers you recognise. Legitimate callers are likely to leave a message. If you're a BT phone customer, BT Privacy at Home gives you free caller display as long as you make some calls with BT. You can also ask BT to register you with the TPS. Set up call barring for unwanted calls – Many cold calls come from abroad, so unless you need to receive international calls, ask your phone operator if it can block calls from international numbers (it may charge for this service). You may also wish to block calls from withheld numbers, though this may prevent some calls you want to receive. For example, if a friend or relative is calling from their workplace, this number may be withheld. Consider using a call blocking service. TrueCall's product plugs directly into your home phone and offers fairly sophisticated call-filtering for a one-off fee of £100. Alternatively the BT 6500 cordless home phone will bar calls from international numbers, withheld numbers and numbers without a caller ID plus up to 10 specific numbers. Don't bow to cold calling pressure – If you receive a cold call, stay calm and don't let the caller intimidate you or pressure you with 'one-day-only' offers. Never reveal your name, address or financial details. If it's a legitimate call from a company you're interested in or are already a customer of, you can always call the company directly. If you suspect a scam, don't press any phone buttons during the call. This could redirect you to a premium-rate number which you will be charged for. Make a note of the cold call number If possible, get the cold call phone number and company name (dial 1471 to check the number if you don't have caller display). These details will help organisations such as Ofcom take action. If the cold caller withholds their phone number, make a note of the time of the call – your phone operator may be able to trace it. Report cold calling offenders Report TPS rule breaches to the TPS. The TPS will contact the company and pass complaints to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which can take action against repeat offenders. Report suspected scams to Action Fraud (0300 123 2040). Report other problem calls – such as silent calls - to your phone provider and/or Ofcom (0300 123 3000), which is reponsible for tackling nuisance calls. Know your distance selling rights If you buy something as the result of a cold call, under distance selling regulations you usually have seven working days from the day after you receive the item to change your mind and return it.
