The National Trading Standards Scam Team – our trusted Neighbourhood Watch partner – has secured Government funding to provide free call blocking technology to protect those in the most vulnerable circumstances from nuisance and scam calls.
Free call blockers will be available to any person living with dementia that is currently receiving scam or nuisance calls.
To get a FREE call blocking device applicants will need to show they or someone they care for receives nuisance and scam calls and has dementia.
We all receive unwanted phone calls. They are a nuisance, but they also put us at risk of being scammed and this risk is even more acute for those who are living with dementia.
If you are eligible for a free call blocker, it will be installed and set up by a qualified engineer who will show you how to manage the units’ settings.
Once you receive a unit, it will become yours to keep and the NTS Scams Team will not be asking for it to be returned at any point. There is no cost to the user for the unit; however, we recommend that the “caller display” service is activated on the user’s phone line for the unit to perform at its best.
One month after installation you will be contacted by a member of the NTS Scams Team and asked to complete a short survey to assess how effective the unit has been at blocking nuisance calls and how you feel about nuisance calls since receiving the unit. The NTS Scams Team will contact you again, three months after installation, to carry out another survey.
Update (16/01/19)
This scheme has now come to an end however the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have agreed to provide National Trading Standards Scams Team funding to continue the call blocking work in the future. Check their website for updates.