Agewell warning after County Antrim man scammed out of £100,000

In a social media post Agewell, which supports older people living in Ballymena, Larne and Carrickfergus, said the man thought he was investing in a savings bond with M&S Bank.

“The scammers sent him realistic emails and documents that looked genuine,” the post added.

"The money was sent to a fake account, and he only realised it was a scam months later. Luckily his bank refunded him, but it shows how convincing these scams can be.

"Be careful; always check with your bank directly before sending money. Do not trust emails or texts even if they look official.”

Agewell’s ‘ScamSavvy’ text alert service is designed to help protect older people from becoming victims of fraud.

Working with the PSNI, it provides a weekly text message highlighting the scams currently in circulation in the area.

Anyone interested in signing up can visit www.meaap.co.uk/scamsavvy or telephone the Agewell Office on 02825658604.

Speaking in 2024, Jenny Marshall, Executive Director of Community Programmes at Agewell said: "Scams are something that are very prevalent for us because of the people we work with. The problem is they move very fast so you are constantly battling the next scam; you could print out literature on the scams that are out there, but it’d very quickly be out of date.

"A text message goes directly into the hands of people who need it, and can be easily shared with family and friends.”

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