Avon and Somerset PCC Mark Shelford has welcomed a national rollout of free call blocking units to help protect people falling victims to phone scams.

Led by the National Trading Standards (NTS) Scams Team and in partnership with trueCall Secure+, the aim of the rollout is to prevent the public, especially vulnerable individuals, from receiving phone calls from fraudsters who are looking to obtain personal or financial information.

A call blocker is a unit that filters out unwanted scams and nuisance phone calls from a landline phone (the unit does not work with mobile phones).

In previous call block projects run by the NTS Scams Team, the units have blocked 91% of scam and nuisance calls.

The unit plugs into an existing landline phone and phone line, and can work alongside broadband and lifeline pendant devices that are already installed,

Those interested can find out more about call blocking units and how they work here.

PCC Mark Shelford said: "It's great to see that NTS Scams Team have received funding to rollout call blockers, a key tool to help prevent people from falling victim to scammers and rogue traders.

"Heartless fraudsters have no qualms targeting those most vulnerable in our communities so it is more important than ever that we take steps to help protect people. If you or a loved one is interested in a free call blocker, please do visit the Friends Against Scams website to find out more."

Meantime he is also backing a new consultation about stamping out cold calling

PCC Mark Shelford has welcomed the Government’s plans to ban cold calls with the launch of an eight-week consultation, marking the next step in delivering the national Fraud Strategy.

The consultation covers proposals to ban cold calls offering any financial products to clamp down on fraudsters seeking to trick people into buying investments. Once in force, residents receiving cold calls offering these types of products will know that it is a scam, and fewer people will become victims.

The consultation paper explores how best to design and implement this ban to prevent scam calls from reaching the public while allowing legitimate and beneficial communications from businesses to continue.

Fraudulent investment schemes represent a significant threat with victims losing £750million between 2022-23 according to data from the City of London Police.

In addition to the national consultation, a specialist team that provides support to victims of fraud – known as the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit – has been rolled out to all 43 police forces across England and Wales since the Fraud Strategy was announced.

Last year, its teams supported more than 113,000 victims and its rollout to all police forces will ensure more people receive the help and support they need.

In Avon and Somerset, this support is in addition to the policing service’s dedicated fraud and cyber protect teams who are committed to supporting victims of fraud and educating people and businesses to help them prevent becoming victims in the first place.

PCC Mark Shelford said: “Cold calling for financial services and products is just one of many tricks that fraudsters have up their sleeves. If cold calling for such services is banned, people can be sure it is not a legitimate offer and, in turn, we can stop more people becoming victims.

“Scammers purposely target the most vulnerable in our communities, which doesn’t just lead to financial loss but also impacts people’s mental health. I very much welcome this step forward to block fraud at the source and look forward to the outcome of the consultation.”