CITIZENS Advice Scotland (CAS) is today launching a Scams Awareness campaign in response to new figures showing almost half of Scots have been targeted.
In the last year, 46% of Scots have been contacted by a scammer at least once. Of these, one in three were targeted more than three times.
Based on a YouGov suvery, the figures show the most common methods to be via telephone (42%), email (38%), and online (10%).
The campaign, which runs for the next two weeks, urges Scots to stop, report, and talk about scams.
CAS’s internal database reveals a huge surge in people turning to local Citizens Advice Bureaus for help on scams, showing 1038 pieces of advice distributed, an increase of 86% from 2017/2018.
The network saw an 113% increase in the reporting of scams from the previous year.
A second YouGov survey discovered most Scots (71%) believe those hit by scams should not be embarrassed about it, and 82% say the main reason for them is that scammers are clever in the way they present themselves.
Launching the campaign, CAS chief executive Derek Mitchell said: “I have a message for scammers: we are on to you. We are tracking your methods and finding more and more ways to beat you. In this campaign we are joined by Trading Standards, Police Scotland, Young Scot, Age Scotland and others.
“But the biggest allies in the fight against scams are the people of Scotland. When we come across a scam, regardless of whether it impacts upon us, we need to stop, report it and talk about it to our friends and family.”
Alexandra Dobson from Dunblane was scammed through her mobile phone when someone got hold of her authorisation code, using that to gain access to her internet banking.
They switched her phone’s account to a new provider and moved her savings from one account to another.
She said: “I had to go to the bank and prove who I was, and thankfully they were able to stop the activity before I lost any money, but it was a really close run thing and it’s very worrying that this could happen so easily.
“It was also quite distressing, and a real inconvenience to have to prove who I am and change all my security settings.
“I think the Scams Awareness Campaign is a really good initiative by Citizens Advice Scotland. Anything that can raise awareness of how these scammers operate has to be a good thing. I would urge everyone to be really vigilant. If you think a scam can’t happen to you, you’re wrong.”
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