Scammers target 40% of people in Northern Ireland in last three years

Forty percent of people have been targeted by a scam in the past three years, the Consumer Council has said.

Chief executive Noyona Chundur said scammers were finding new ways to target people.

The PSNI said despite the perception that older people are the main victims of scams, the age group most affected is 20 to 49 year olds.

They said there had been a increase in scams targeting people through social media and online shopping.

On the fifth anniversary of the Scamwise NI Partnership, Supt Gerard Pollock said there had been a "significant rise in the number of reported scams" since 2016.

In the 2015/16 financial year, the PSNI said 2,230 fraud offences were reported. In the 2020/21 year, that figure had risen to 5,825.

"Whilst there has been a rise in general around the UK and further afield, we are pleased that through our commitment to raising awareness, more and more people are spotting and therefore reporting scams," he added.

"Fraudsters are continually coming up with more sophisticated and convincing ways of duping people out of money and possessions so partnerships like ScamwiseNI are vital in ensuring they do not succeed."

Scamwise NI was started by a number of organisations including the PSNI, Department of Justice, The Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Policing Board, in response to the growing number of scams circulating in Northern Ireland.

Eddie Lynch, the commissioner for older people for Northern Ireland, said the scheme had had a positive impact.

"We are living in a society where scammers will go out of their way to dupe people out of their money in lots of different ways," he added.

"Anyone can become a victim of a scam which is why I... will continue to work with and promote the partnership's efforts to ensure our older citizens are well informed."

Ms Chundur said the Consumer Council's research showed how important initiatives to combat scamming were.

"As we become more reliant on the internet, scammers are finding new ways to target people, meaning our work in protecting consumers has never been more important," she added.