Dreamcatchin’ on a Southwind

The elderly could be suffering a ‘silent epidemic’ of fraud after it emerged the over-70s have lost almost £1 billion over the past three years.

And experts fear the true figure could be higher, as many pensioners are too scared to report crimes or don’t realise they’ve been a victim.

Money Mail analysis of Action Fraud figures reveals scam victims aged over 70 lost about £977 million in total between April 2019 and 2022.

The very elderly, aged between 90 and 99, reported £116 million stolen, an average of £6,097 each. 

And this is despite the age group accounting for 19,059 of the total 178,772 cases logged among the over-70s.

People in their 20s and 30s typically reported the most incidents of fraud, but their losses averaged less than half those of the over-90s, at £2,391 — £825 million over the same period.

Of all age groups, it was victims in their 50s who suffered the biggest total loss in each one of the three years, Action Fraud’s figures show.

Professor Keith Brown, formerly of Bournemouth University and an expert in safeguarding adults, says: ‘The fraud that occurs among elderly people who live alone is under-reported.Many older victims are too ashamed to come forward.

‘And vulnerable elderly people, such as those with dementia, are at higher risk as they are unlikely to realise they have been scammed.

‘It’s a silent epidemic.If you have elderly relatives, or people you care for, you can almost assume they are going to be a victim.’

The Daily Mail revealed last month that Britain has become the fraud capital of the world and is campaigning for a major overhaul to the system.

When confronted with this investigation on LBC radio, technology and minibola digital economy minister Chris Philp admitted fraud is a ‘huge problem’ and — ‘shockingly’ — still growing. 

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox money" data-version="2" id="mol-6859b890-0772-11ed-912c-13460a9a1fa6" website epidemic&apos; of elderly fraud: Victims too scared to come forward

Online dating ads have been banned for serious offence after offering the chance to meet ‘lonely’ Ukrainian women amid the invasion of the sovereign state by . 

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the three ads from SofiaDate, seen in May, which featured models dressed in low-cut and body-hugging clothing, connected the women’s vulnerability to their sex appeal.

It was the same month that the Government launched a scheme to encourage the public to house Ukrainian refugees. 

The advertisements were promoted by local newspapers and saw a blonde woman on a balcony in a skimpy yellow dress which publisher Newsquest acknowledged were ‘clumsily sexist’ but not unsympathetic towards Ukrainian women. 

But the news group said on reflection the ads had been removed as they could have been inconsistent with their policy on refusing ads for prostitution and trafficking. 

Predatory men were also found, according to another investigation, to be exploiting the Homes for Ukraine refugee scheme to host single and vulnerable women fleeing Putin’s war.

Three complaints lodged with the ASA said the ads were inappropriate and offensive in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Astrasoft Projects, trading as SofiaDate, said it had also removed the ads.

The first ad, seen on the Dorset Echo’s website, stated: ‘Ukrainian [sic] women. [You can] meet thousands of lonely Ukrainian Women. Forget About Loneliness.Let Yourself be Happy.’

The second and third ads, both seen on Scottish newspaper The National’s website, featured images of women and said: ‘Ukranian [sic] Women’ and ‘Connecting Singles Across the World to Their Ideal Partner …’

The National and Newsquest Media Group, trading as Dorset Echo, said the ads were ‘ostensibly conventional dating ads, although potentially clumsily sexist in their portrayal of women from a male perspective’.

They argued the ads did not refer to the war in Ukraine, were not partisan, and were also not unsympathetic towards Ukrainian women or minibola the Ukrainian people in general.

However, they said that on reflection they could be inconsistent with their policy of refusing ads for prostitution and trafficking, and confirmed they had since been removed.

Upholding the complaints, the ASA said the women depicted in the ads were shown in a way that was, at least partly, designed to titillate readers, with the models dressed in low-cut and body-hugging clothing.

The watchdog said: ‘We considered the ads’ focus on Ukrainian women dressed in the aforementioned manner, as well references to their loneliness, had the effect of highlighting their vulnerability and connecting it to their sexual appeal.

‘For that reason, we concluded the ads were likely to cause serious offence.’

Meanwhile it was revealed in May that men with domestic abuse or violence records have reportedly messaged single Ukrainian women specially set up to connect sponsors and hosts.

Some refugees have even become homeless after relations with hosts broke down or because housing was not well vetted.

Other homes have been found to be completely unsuitable for Ukrainians escaping Russian bombs, with one mother-of-two claiming that her whole family had been expected to sleep in one small reception room next to the kitchen – despite expecting separate bedrooms.

She added that the property was filled with Nazi pictures and Soviet symbols, telling the BBC: ‘I don’t feel safe’.

It comes after the UN’s refugee agency warned in April of ‘increasing reports of Ukrainian women feeling at risk from their sponsors’.The UNHCR called for ‘the need for adequate safeguards and vetting measures to be in place against exploitation, as well as adequate support for sponsors’