One in eight people with dementia in Shropshire have been conned out of their money, according to figures out today which put the total at more than £500,000.

In the county, 4,497 people struggle with dementia with 675 of them becoming victims of financial abuse such as cold calling, scam mail or mis-selling totalling £573,750, according to a report by the Alzheimer’s Society.

In Telford & Wrekin, out of 1,644 people with dementia, 247 people have been conned to the total of £209,950, the report says.

The Alzheimer’s Society says that throughout the West Midlands £8 million has been lost.

Its new report Short Changed: Protecting People with Dementia from Financial Abuse, the society calls for people with the condition to be better protected.

David Ash, area manager for the West Midlands, said: “We are merely scratching the surface of the frightening hidden depths of financial abuse.
Needs

“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.

“It’s only by working together with banks, local authorities, and of course the general public that we can turn this around.”

Financial expert Martin Lewis is now joining the Alzheimer’s Society in calling on Trading Standards and banks to help protect people by appointing dementia champions, who would help raise awareness of the condition and spearhead better working with other local organisations.

‘Short Changed’ reveals that nationally 62 per cent of carers said the person they care for had been approached by cold callers or salespeople on their doorstep, while 70 per cent were regularly targeted by telephone cold callers.

Mr Lewis, who wrote the foreword to the report, said: “The scale of this problem is huge,” adding that the true amount of money lost is likely to be much higher as financial abuse often goes unreported.