According to figures released today by the Jersey Fraud Prevention Forum (the Forum), reports of scams and frauds in the Island have almost doubled in the first three months of this year. With 12 being reported on average per month compared to seven reports of scams and fraud made each month last year.
As well as the increase in reports, the States of Jersey Police have also received more than 50 reported incidents of frauds and scams which led to islanders losing nearly £400,000 in total.
Forum Chairman, Chief Inspector Chris Beechey is asking Islanders to remain vigilant and to keep reporting scams to the Police and members of the Forum:
“On average, we have seen an increase in the amounts of frauds and scams being reported in 2021, on one hand it is good to see that Islanders feel confident to make reports, however it also reinforces our message that frauds and scams are still out there and that you need to remain alert.
Working with our members and different organisations, we try our best to return lost funds to victims, but sometimes unfortunately this doesn’t happen. That’s why it is so important that Islanders stay aware of sophisticated scams and let us know if they think they have been targeted.
The second lockdown has limited our social interactions, which has again led to changes in the types of frauds and scams being reported to us. Being cut off and isolated from our usual social networks can make us more vulnerable to fraudsters.”
The Forum is raising awareness about this latest spike in frauds and scams in its island-wide newsletter that is being delivered to all homes this week. The Forum’s message to local residents is to report it to the Police if they have been targeted or fallen vicitm to this type of crime.