Made of Money is delighted to announce that we have begun delivering workshops on scams awareness. We are working in partnership with Carers Centre Tower Hamlets and will be delivering over half the sessions with carers. This work is funded by Tower Hamlets Mayor’s Fund.
Because research has shown that going online can save families over £700 a year, and because many of the fun opportunities to connect are online (from Ancestry, or Scrabble to online dating), scams awareness that deters people from going online is unhelpful. Our focus is on how to get the most of time online and supporting participants to think about what being safe and being at risk means for them. We help participants identify resources to support their time online. These include a list of trusted websites, tips and tools to go online more safely, sources of help or even identifying a friend to sound out about alarm bells.
Unfortunately, as we all know, scammers are ever more ingenious and plausible.
Being on a lower income affords no protection whatsoever. We decided to develop this work after learning of vulnerable people being scammed multiple times, which told us that existing advice wasn’t working for everyone.
The QSA ethos that everyone is entitled to a good life irrespective of their income feeds directly into our approach for this work. For many of us being able to enjoy time online is an important part of having a good life.
Our three workshops cover consumer scams and interpersonal scams. Participants will look at how to spot scams, how to avoid them and what we can do if we are concerned that we are getting caught into a scam. Sessions are fun and friendly, and we use activities such as thinking about our red and green flags, games and spotting the warning signs on fake social media profiles.
If you are in Tower Hamlets and would like to attend a session or for us to run a session with your group, please get in touch at madeofmoney@qsa.org.uk.