Protecting against phone scammers

[GROCKLE]

Thank you! So helpful. My mum was scammed again by one of those appliance scammers just yesterday. I'm good online and computer literate so I'll do some of your suggestions

I'm pleased my reporting could be of assistance. My dear sister has since passed away, but, at the time, it was the 24x7, Do Not Disturb block on her phone which provided the protection in the end, so that I could sleep finally better at night. And of course, registered VIP persons in the system could always still call her.
I'm still online watching this thread, so if you have specific questions, don't hesitate to ask.
One other thing, do you have any local friends who can help you "hands on" if needed, because you are, I believe, remote caring like I was?

 

[AnnaWatts]

You've done a great job protecting your sister from phone scammers. BT Call Protect and your VIP list strategy are effective. It's a relief to see the scam attempts decrease. Your proactive approach is inspiring!

 

[GROCKLE]

Thank you, I'm pleased if my experience has been useful to others. Being very remote, I was apprehensive about setting this into operation during the peak of Covid, but in the end I was still in full control and could catch bona fide calls and check them by calling, local numbers for example.
The scammers build up complex databases on their victims, slowly patiently gathering all different but useful information, including mental state (dementia). Eventually they have enough for the Direct Debit and "contract" which comes through the post and theoretically be cancelable within x days, which is in reality virtually impossible, no one picks up the given phone.
When clearing my sister's papers after her death in July, I found lots of scribbled-on scammer envelopes and bank account envelopes from earlier dementia days, "Tried to call, no reply or answering machine..." She had obviously tried to cancel but failed, then forgot, the monthly DDs were in place. When I took over her finances, I saw that the monthly amounts had been slowly incremented with time.
Very sad to discover. But I was quick to close down the scammer DDs once I had PoA and Bank access.