A call-blocking device which is saving consumers, NHS and social work thousands of pounds has been hailed a “gamechanger” by trading standards officers.
The team has worked out that for every £1 spent on the TrueCall kit, nearly 50 times that amount is saved by the householder and associated organisations.
More than 100 TrueCalls have been installed in the homes of people identified to Trading Standards as vulnerable.
The Scottish Government-funded device is programmed to screen out thousands of known scam numbers at source, and is continually updated.
Trusted callers such as friends and family are programmed in to enable access straight through.
Enforcement officer Rebecca Brown has travelled the length and breadth of the Highlands over the past two years installing the devices.
She said: “The householder can be elderly, or a younger person with a medical condition.
“We know if they’re vulnerable, they’re more susceptible to answering a scam call and before they know it, they’re giving out personal details and bank details.
“This way when the householder is answering the phone they get instant reassurance that it’s someone they want to speak to.”
Trading Standards team leader Mark McGinty said data being fed back by the devices show that the average Highlander is twice as likely to receive a nuisance call as anyone else in the UK.
He said: “Perhaps it’s the friendly, trusting culture of the Highlands.
“But we now have sufficient data to argue for more of these devices from the Scottish Government to protect vulnerable people, and to give enforcement authorities a chance of catching the scammers.”
