Over the past 12 months, there has also been an 83% decrease in the amount of money islanders have lost due to scams and frauds.
While overall reported fraud related crime is down in the island, Forum Chairman, Detective Chief Inspector Chris Beechey, is asking islanders to remain vigilant and to keep reporting these crimes when they occur: “Although these figures look positive for Jersey, we are conscious that the island, like the rest of the world, has been living in very unusual circumstances due to COVID-19. We are mindful that there could be many contributing factors to this decrease in reported scams and frauds.
“By islanders reporting these incidents to us, we are able to raise awareness and hopefully prevent others from falling victim. Feedback from our Forum members suggests that the public are feeling more confident about identifying potential scams and reporting them to the relevant authorities.
“We hope our newsletter, delivered island-wide in April, went some way to raise awareness and better equip islanders to detect and report these crimes. We would like to remind islanders that if they think they are being targeted, they should contact the police as soon as possible”.
The Forum issues educational newsletters across the island twice a year to raise awareness about the growing number of scammers targeting local residents, in particular the elderly and vulnerable. Its latest newsletter focussed on Covid-19 scams and included advice for islanders working from home during the pandemic, along with a reminder to only purchase medicines and products from authorised retailers and pharmacies.
On 22 September, members of the Forum will host a webinar for the public which will cover the latest frauds and scams targeting the island. The members will also offer advice for local residents about how to protect themselves and report these types of crime.
For more information about the event, click here.
