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09 Aug 2021

The job of a fraud solicitor is never boring. They are required to deal with a number of complex cases on a daily basis which cover many different types of fraud. Fraud is one of the biggest and most frequently committed offences in the UK. This may come as a shock to you, as people often think sexual crimes and violence are more prevalent. However the issue with fraud is that it can be committed by anyone and there are numerous types of fraud. Being a fraud victim is a stressful and anxious experience which can often leave lasting impacts on people. If you feel that you or someone you know is a victim of fraud then contact ABV Solicitors where our expert team of fraud solicitors will be able to guide you through the process and provide you with friendly, personal and professional advice that meets your individual needs and circumstances.

Fraud victims – who gets targeted?

You will often hear on the news and on social media outlets about victims of fraud. Those committing fraud will usually target the elderly, people living alone, those who are vulnerable, people suffering from mental health conditions, and young adults.

The internet can be a very dangerous place, especially for the vulnerable and young adults who can be easily manipulated by professional fraudsters. These fraudsters usually commit such types of fraud on a daily basis and therefore they become experts in doing so and act in a manner so that the victim will not realise that fraud is being committed against them. The fraudsters will try to get friendly with their victims and build up a rapport on an online forum, such as Facebook, and once they have managed to form a ‘relationship’ with the victim they will then ask more personal questions and seek to get money out of them or some other form of financial benefit. You would think it is easy to say no to such people, but your fraud solicitor will explain that such professional fraudsters will not ask directly for money, but will rather do so in a very discreet manner. It is therefore essential that you contact a fraud solicitor and other authorities such as the police, as soon as you become aware that you or someone that you know is a victim of fraud.

The elderly and people living alone are more easily targeted by fraudsters. Often the elderly won’t access social media and the internet, however fraudsters will contact them on their phones instead. You will find that people living alone and the elderly are more likely to speak to unknown people on the phone as they often feel lonely and do not have people to speak to and therefore like to have a chat. Fraudsters are aware of this and will appear to be friendly, sympathetic and understanding and a friendly voice on the phone, and will build a relationship with their victim. They will then begin targeting them and persuading their victims to part with large sums of money. Usually the elderly and the vulnerable do not realise that they have been a victim of fraud until quite some time after the event and often it is too late at that point to be able to identify the fraudster. Also the fraudsters are usually calling from abroad which makes it harder to track them.