Horsham Trafalgar Neighbourhood Council

Between January and March this year, residents in West Sussex lost a total of just over £3.5million to criminals using different types of scams. The majority of victims were aged 60 or over and just under half of the reports came from people living alone. To stop individuals becoming victims of fraud and blackmail, a new series of free webinars and in person events are being run to raise awareness about online safety.T The Horsham sessions, organised by the County Council’s Digital Safety Team, will be held online and in person on       Wednesday 2 August at Horsham Library at 10.00am Tickets for the online sessions can be booked via Eventbrite. The webinars will provide individuals with the knowledge on how to spot scams and what to do if they, or their family, become a victim of online fraud. After the sessions in libraries, members from the Digital Safety Team will be on hand alongside Digital Ambassador Volunteers and the West Sussex Library Service’s Digital Support and Digital Access Teams, to support people with any digital enquiries or to provide information on how to be more scam aware. Duncan Crow, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire & Rescue, said: “Whether it’s online, on the phone or on your doorstep, fraudsters have many ways of scamming people, and unless you know what to look for, it is very easy to get caught out.“ The top three fraud and blackmail scams between January and March this year are courier and impersonator fraud, sextortion and dating and romance fraud. With most of these taking place online, these scam awareness webinars, and in-person events are a great way for people to find out more on how they can stay safe and ultimately stop themselves, or their friends and family from becoming another victim.” If you can’t attend one of these sessions, you can visit www.westsussex.gov.uk/staying-safe-online where you can find more information on how the Digital Safety Team can support you, your family or business to stay safe online.

Find additional details here