Hi everyone, with the rise in online fraud and crime, this video provides guidance on what to look out for and how to keep loved ones safe. Have you ever had to step in to help someone or been targeted yourself? Keeping safe from scams - YouTube
A link to this was sent to me today via social media. While it looks convincing, it seems like a money making scam with no validity as a genuine ID card so I thought it best to bring it to your attention to give it a better authorative, judgement and to advise on it’s legality as there may be many members on here who may, or already have, signed up for it … The link is …
@Jimbo_Uk Hi and welcome tot he forum. Thanks for posting that - it certainly would appear to be a scam. most Carers Support Centres which issue a Carers Emergency Card will provide a lot of local outlets which give discounts on presentation of the card - and that is FREE !! Not £8… Yet another way people are trying to cash in on carers concerns!
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Thank you Chris,
I won’t link to the social media thread unless requested.
There seemed to be a great deal of interest and only a few warning of the possibility of it being a scam. One person had got the card but when requesting the advertised discounts at a local store on their list, they had never heard of it. Alarm bells couldn’t have rung any louder.
I just hope this post will bring it to people’s attention so they’re prepared if they come across it.
Hi @Jimbo_Uk Interesting one. Examining the website throws up a couple of things: it’s one of two products offered by the company that runs the card. The first is a discount scheme that sounds remarkably like the one offered on the carers card. And then there’s the carers card.
To be fair (for a moment), any discount scheme can have someone who’s never heard of it. But it’s hard to see how waving around a card that no one is likely to have ever heard of would access anything but a “nice try, ducky” unless the discount scheme is something to access online.
I’ve gone through the whole carers card website. It says all the right things, including that it is advised by “a mixture of carer officials and carers” at monthly meetings. Alarm bell: no names or organisations, no links to helplines like CUK. Completely standalone. Loud alarm bell, actually. Why would they not? Well, possibly because that might lead to the local groups that have their own discount card at no cost, like @Chris_22081 mentioned. And possibly because those carers with a card might then find out that no one else has heard about it. Equally it could be because the individuals running it are naïve. But their “about us” page doesn’t use any photos of the website owners and that is an immediate alarm bell right there.
Don’t get me wrong - if this is a scam, it’s not going to be a big earner at £8 a pop. But it’s £8 that most carers can ill afford.
I’m going to raise this with Michael Shann to see if CUK knows anything about it or have heard anything. And possibly, if it’s really genuine, there are possibilities for improving it. But an advisory board that hasn’t suggested being in contact with the Carers Trust or CUK bothers me. That and the fact that according to their last accounts (this year’s are overdue) they have a turnover of under £40k. Which slips them under the radar of audited accounts and any kind of scrutiny.
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Hi guys. I can confirm that Carers Card UK is not a scam. I took the plunge and purchased a card back in early 2023 and I have to admit that I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the support the card offers. They’ve also got a decent number of discounts from which I have benefitted from on several occasions. Yes, it’s shame the card isn’t free to carers but I guess they have their own costs.
Just to be clear this card has no connection with Carers UK
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