Call blocking devices are a recent development in the ongoing battle to stop nuisance calls. Frances Wilson from National Trading Standards explains how these devices are silencing nuisance calls in particular for people with dementia.
We’ve all experienced nuisance calls in some form or another, and many will have even received a scam call at some point. These calls can be very difficult to distinguish from legitimate calls and can potentially lead to people losing thousands of pounds.
While there are steps that can be taken to limit the number of unwanted calls, many still remain vulnerable to these calls. It is predicted that by 2025 there will be more than one million people living with dementia in the UK, and this group are particularly at risk to nuisance and scam calls.
Call blockers
The National Trading Standards Scam Team (NTS Scams Team) is providing free call blockers to people who are living with dementia and may be at risk of financial abuse or personal distress caused by nuisance and scam calls.
We’ve distributed the call blockers to people living with dementia via trading standards officers, and so far it’s been a great success. The units have blocked 99.5% of unwanted calls made to users and the feedback has been excellent, with many people saying they’re no longer worried by unwanted calls as they don’t receive them. One user said that the unit had been a ‘blessing’ to them.
We think it’s important to provide these units to people living with dementia as they have features that are particularly relevant to them, such as the option to only allow approved callers to ring the user and the ability to block outgoing numbers as well as incoming numbers.
Friends Against Scams
The Friends Against Scams campaign aims to educate people about scams and empower people to take a stand against scams. Anyone can become a Friend Against Scams by either attending a short awareness session in person or completing the online training.
Friends have come from a variety of backgrounds, from bank staff who have been able to protect their customers from scams, to neighbourhood watch groups that have shared their awareness to protect their communities.
If you are interested in getting a unit for yourself, a friend or family member they are available via the Friends Against Scams website.
This is a guest contribution from Frances Wilson from National Trading Standards. All views expressed here are Frances’s own and not necessarily also shared by Which?.
Are you still hassled by nuisance calls?
Do you know someone who is using one of these call blocker devices? How else do you think nuisance calls could be silenced?
Loading ...
