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Older and vulnerable people protected against nuisance callers

Older and vulnerable people in North East Lincolnshire are reaping the benefits of a system which prevents nuisance callers.

trueCall, a call blocker which aims to protect the elderly and vulnerable from nuisance and scam phone calls, were first installed back in 2017. Since then, 9,546 calls in total have been blocked. It is also estimated that 11 scams have been prevented as a result of this service.

All users need to install the service is a plug socket and a telephone with caller ID.

The device checks the identity of a caller and automatically filters unrecognised numbers and nuisance callers. A message is played to the cold caller which warns them to hang up.

Before the system was established, local residents received around 32 nuisance and scam calls every month. This is almost twice the national average.

Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, said: “Fraudsters use a variety of techniques for parting innocent victims with their money.

“Nuisance callers are a particular problem, especially for older and vulnerable people, who many scammers see as easy targets.

“Thousands of pounds are lost every year to telephone scams, something we are keen to stamp out.”

Steve Smith, managing director of trueCall said: “The opportunities for scammers are much greater as people are less familiar with new procedures associated with vital services, such as Covid testing and Covid vaccinations. Scammers exploit this uncertainty and manipulate individuals by charging fees for false home testing kits or deceiving people into paying for non-existent vaccines.

“We’re proud that our call blocking devices are playing such a significant role to protect households by asking unrecognised callers to identify themselves before calls are put through.”

To find out more about the trueCall service, or if you need advice or guidance on nuisance and scam calls, contact Citizens’ Advice on 0800 144 8848.

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