Led by Otago Neighbourhood Support and the Mosgiel Taieri Encouraging Safety Project, the Scam Savvy project is spreading the ‘‘keep yourself safe from scammers’’ message throughout the community.
Encouraging Safety Project co-ordinator Jacqui Hyde said Scam Savvy was launched in 2019 with a workshop in partnership with Age Concern, ANZ Bank and NZ Police, which was very well received.
‘‘People then went out and spread the word in the community, which has led to more sessions, more people coming along, and invitations to talk to community groups,’’ Ms Hyde said.
‘‘It has been a very successful project and, since there are always scams and they are always changing, it is still very much needed in the community.
‘‘It was great to have that [initiative] recognised at the awards.’’
Otago Neighbourhood Support co-ordinator Joy Davis said winning the national project award was recognition for the hard work that had gone into creating the Scam Savvy project and its continuing relevance to the community.
‘‘Scams seem to be ongoing, just the subject matter changes.
‘‘So it is very important to continue raising awareness in the community,’’ Ms Davis said.
The Neighbourhood Support NZ awards were presented at a national event in Wellington recently, although Otago Neighbourhood Support was unable to attend due to Covid-19 restrictions, she said.
‘‘It was a shame, but we needed to keep our community safe.’’
Otago Neighbourhood Support had nominated Bunnings for the Business Partner of the Year award and were pleased that the company had been named a semifinalist.
‘‘Bunnings have been a tremendous partner to us, they are very community focused and have been incredibly helpful ,’’ Ms Davis said.
Ms Hyde said, with the phasing out of cheques for banking causing some concern in the community, particularly among older people, Mosgiel Taieri Encouraging Safety Project would host an online banking information event on August 20.
Representatives from all the major banks had been invited to attend the event, to be held on August 20, from 11am -1pm, at the Taieri Age Connect Hall in Mosgiel.
‘‘The aim of the event is for people to be able to come along and get practical help with moving to online banking,’’ Ms Hyde said.
‘‘Some people are still suspicious of it, so hopefully having this support will help to allay people’s fears,’’ she said.
