 Scams and frauds are on the rise nationally, accounting for almost 50% of all reports to the police. And Courier, an impersonator fraud, continues to be the largest fraud in West Sussex and the UK today. Hello, my name's Jason Lem and I'm here with my colleague Claudia Deema. Together we both work for West Sussex County Council as part of the Community Safety and Wellbeing Team. We would like to take this opportunity to extend you a warm welcome and thank you for listening to this short presentation that we have recorded. Over the next seven minutes, Claudia and I will explain exactly what Courier fraud is, some of the signs to look out for if you are contacted by a fraudster and what to do in order to keep yourself and others safe. Thank you for listening. What is a scam? A scam is an illegal trick, usually with the purpose of getting money from people and a scam is a type of fraud. But as time has gone on, we are aware that scams are becoming much more sophisticated. Scammers are becoming much better at what they do. And what it is with Courier fraud, it is with somebody tricks people into being somebody that they're not. So they pretend to be either some kind of imposter or somebody from a really good background or from a well-known organisation and they would dupe an individual out of large sums of money. Thank you Claudia. So what exactly is Courier fraud? This fraud type occurs when a victim is contacted often over the phone by a member of a scam gang or organised crime group. The Cullall state that they are either a bank official or a police officer, usually from their own fraud department. They will tell the victim that their money and their savings are at risk and convince them to withdraw large sums of cash from their bank branch and pass this often with credit cards and debit cards to either a Courier or a taxi driver, which is how Courier fraud gets its name. The victim will often believe that they are assisting and in investigation and just want to help. As I said earlier Courier and impersonator fraud is currently our number one fraud in West Sussex and accounts for 27.4% of all of our reported frauds, a trend which is matched nationally. This fraud will often target the most vulnerable members of our society, with most victims being elderly. In West Sussex data shows that 75% of Courier fraud victims are over the age of 75 and that 64% of these victims will live alone. Very often these victims will have their details sold on to what is known as Suckers List and the next scam gang will simply use their details and contact them again with victims going on to become repeat victims of this crime type. So what can we do to report fraud? As you can see we can report to action fraud and sadly many scams still go unreported so even the statistics that we've mentioned are fairly high and are getting higher on a yearly basis. We may raise more awareness asking people to report these kinds of frauds. So please report to action fraud. They have a number there on the screen that you can see or you can actually report via a reporting button on their website. Scam elliptics you can also report as well and they also help victims with regards to ongoing fraud. In non-emergency cases you can also report to 101 and Sussex Police Operation Signature their work focuses on the protection of vulnerable members of our community. They prevent them from becoming victims of such frauds that we've mentioned today and if a vulnerable person has been a victim of fraud you can report this to Sussex Police via the 101 number and the operation signature team should work with and support that individual with their ongoing help. So some useful resources that you might want to have a look at in your own time if you do want to know more about any type of scams at all citizens advice have a fantastic website with lots and lots of information with regards to all different types of scams. They also have you know help lines on their website and signposts some other useful websites that can provide that support for you. We've already mentioned action fraud and they're the reporting process that we need to be reporting you know online or telephone fraud too. Victim support help with the support provided to our victims of fraud and provide that ongoing help and support and emotional support that they may need. Age UK again on their website have lots and lots of information with regards to all different types of scams and just to test yourself after this presentation please do the take five RU Scam Savvy quiz and test yourself, test your knowledge to see whether you've learned anything today with regards to whether you can spot scams. Thank you for listening that brings us to the end of this short presentation. You'll see on screen there is a link to the Staying Safe online website with options to sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. There is also a link to the full length 41 minute version of this presentation if you would like to find out more about this fraud type. Courier fraud affects so many of us either directly or indirectly. If a friend, family member or loved one mentions any of these signs that we've discussed today talk to them, make them aware, help protect them from potentially becoming a victim and keep them safe and above all keep yourself safe. Thank you again for listening.