We’re excited to share that Take Five has teamed up with Mencap to help people with learning disabilities stay safe from scams.
Mencap is a UK-wide charity that values and supports people with a learning disability, and their families and carers. They work to help the estimated 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives. Take Five is a UK-wide campaign educating and empowering people to protect themselves from financial fraud.
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and can mean some people have difficulty with everyday activities. Typically, people with a learning disability need more time to learn and process information, and they may need extra support to develop skills, complete tasks and interact with others. With the right support, most people with a learning disability can live happy, healthy, independent lives.
Our work with Mencap is all about ensuring that our essential advice is accessible for everyone. Together, we have produced an easy read guide on how to protect yourself from scams.
An easy read guide is a resource that makes written information easier to understand by using simple language and illustrating the information with pictures. Our easy read guide has a particular focus on impersonation scams and romance scams and has been reviewed by a panel of people with learning disabilities for their feedback.
It focuses on romance scams and impersonation fraud as people with a learning disability may be more at risk of being targeted, potentially missing subtle warning signs of the social engineering tactics criminals use in these crimes. These types of fraud are also more likely to involve criminals manipulating victims into making repeated payments over an extended period, leading to substantial financial loss.
Ben Donaldson, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said: “Fraud is by far the most common crime in this country, accounting for over 40 per cent of all reported offences. The ruthless criminals responsible will try to target us all. Impersonation and romance scams are among the most heartless forms of fraud because they involve the callous manipulation of the victim, which can cause emotional and psychological harm.
“We want everyone to be able to keep themselves safe from crime. That’s why we have developed this guide to ensure people with a learning disability have clear, accessible advice they can use to spot the tell-tale signs of fraud and protect themselves.”
You can access the easy read guide here and find out more in the video below!
