Dementia sufferers ‘tricked out of millions’

The Alzheimer’s Society is calling for better safeguards for vulnerable people after a survey found 15 per cent of patients are cheated out of cash.

It said more than 110,000 people, including an estimated 9,000 in Yorkshire with dementia, have been victims of rogue cold calling, scam mail, or mis-selling.

Almost two-thirds of carers said the person they cared for had been approached by unexpected salespeople on their doorstep, while 70 per cent were regularly targeted by telephone sellers.

The charity estimates the financial cost of the abuse amounts to more than £100m nationwide, including £8m in Yorkshire.

But it is warning the real scale of abuse could be much higher and is calling on trading standards chiefs and banks to do more to help dementia sufferers.

In one case, a woman from Bradford saw her own carer steal £8,000 from her.

John Richardson, whose wife Sue, 64, has Alzheimer’s, said he entrusted the carer with the PIN number to credit cards to help her buy clothes or pay for haircuts for his wife. The carer bought items for herself, regularly withdrew £250 in cash from another bank account and also stole his wife’s jewellery. It had robbed his wife’s peace of mind and she stopped trusting anyone in a caring role.

Nicki Dyson, Alzheimer’s Society area manager in Yorkshire, said: “We are merely scratching the surface of the frightening hidden depths of financial abuse. Too often con artists are dealing another body blow to people who already face high care costs and a society that fails to understand their needs.”