My friend with Dementia lost over £1,000 to scammers – but clever bank card will stop it happening to your loved ones

PENNY* JOHNSON was horrified when she became responsible for a family friend suffering with dementia - and quickly realised he was falling victim to scams on a regular basis.

Penny took in neighbour Michael, who she had known for 50 years, when his health began to deteriorate after being diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's.

Mike's health deteriorated after his wife died, leaving him distraught.

"That was really when I got involved. Up until then I popped in to see them every now and again and we led different lives, but when Jane died, she asked me if I would look after Mike," she said.

"But things started to deteriorate and he was soon being scammed by people coming to the door and trying to lay a new driveway, he would lose his keys and he had a few rogue locksmiths.

"Then, a couple of years ago, he started getting some quite nasty scam phone calls, like trying to get him to pay his gas and electricity.

"We looked together at his bank statement and realised money was coming out left right and centre - several thousand pounds had disappeared."

It was then that Penny looked into how she could get help protecting Mike's finances.

She contacted charity The Alzheimer's Society, and they suggested a new type of card by a firm called Sibstar.

Sibstar is a debit card and app for people with dementia and their carers. It allows the carer to help manage the person they are caring for's every-day spending.

So, if the person makes a transaction, the carer can review it and figure out if they're being taken advantage of, or are overspending by accident.

"From then, when Mike tried to give out his card details, it didn't work," Penny said.

"For example, he was charged £57 for a trip that should have only cost him £5 or £6 - but I got a notification from the Sibstar app, and I realised he had been overcharged by mistake.

"He wouldn't have realised that, but I was able to sort it out for him."

With Sibstar, you can also switch off the ability to withdraw from an ATM, as that is a classic way scammers target people for their cash.

"If he needs cash, I take him to the ATM and we can go and get some if he needs it," Penny said.

"We kept the contactless so he can be independent and do his own shopping, but we've blocked using it online, which is where he lost thousands of pounds." 

What is Sibstar?

Sibstar was created by Jane Sibley, who watched her own mum suffer from dementia and start erratically spending her money.

She would forget she'd bought things, accidentally overspend, and would even withdraw large amounts of money several times away and hand them out to people on the street.

The CEO of Sibstar, who lives in Southampton wanted to create something to help prevent this while allowing the personal with dementia the dignity to remain financially independent.

"It is critical that people with dementia remain financially included in the world and have the financial tools to allow them to do that," she said.

Ms Sibley presented her idea on TV show Dragon's Den earlier this year, where she won a £125,000 investment into growing the business.

Dragons' Den investors, Sara Davies and Deborah Meaden backed the business, saying it could "transform lives".

The business is now backed by the Alzheimer's Society, which signposts people to its cards.

To use the card and app, there is a £4.99 card set-up fee, and a £4.99 monthly subscription fee.

Withdrawals from an ATM with the card also cost 99p.

However, Sibstar's website says 7.5% of this goes back to the Alzheimer's Society.

*Name changed on request