Building society customers in Trowbridge have been warned about fraud risks by an online safety expert.

The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust's Stay Safe Online coordinator, Richard Meek, joined forces with Wiltshire Council's trading standards team to provide the advice.

Alongside trading standards officer Chris Hewin, Mr Meek attended Coventry Building Society to share his knowledge.

He said: "I was able to talk to customers about how to minimise the risks of falling victim to a scam, while Chris was talking about how he and his colleagues can help them when they have problems with faulty goods or unwanted callers at the door."

The Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust is dedicated to helping the community, particularly the older and more vulnerable members, to avoid online fraud.

Their team of police-trained Stay Safe Online volunteers carry out home visits and group talks to provide this support.

Trust director Jennie Shaw said: "We’d like to say a big thank you to Coventry Building Society for allowing us to be in the branch.

"It’s so important that we are able to chat to people in informal settings like this because so many of them don’t realise how easily and quickly they can fall prey to fraudsters.

"We work closely with the police to stay abreast of the latest scams because fraudsters are continually revising and adapting what they do to get around people's defences."

Councillor Dominic Muns, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for environment and trading standards, added: "Our trading standards team is always happy to support public events to provide advice to members of the public on how to protect themselves from rogue trading and scams.

"We are grateful to Coventry Building Society for inviting us to their branches, along with the Bobby Van, to speak to customers.

"We know that 85 per cent of doorstep crime victims are over 65 and many of our older residents regularly visit the building society, meaning this was an ideal opportunity for us to raise awareness and give advice on how they should protect themselves."

The charity’s Stay Safe Online volunteers carry out free home visits or group talks to anyone over 60, or over 18 if they have a registered disability.

Their support includes easy-to-follow guidance, help to improve digital and cyber security awareness, cyber and scam prevention advice, signposting to further advice and resources, support and reassurance, and basic practical skills to enable people to check and understand privacy settings.