I have urged people to be cautious this Christmas to avoid falling victim to scammers.
Police Scotland have been doing excellent work to raise awareness of scams, including a stall at Dobbies Dunfermline, but more has to be done to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams.
Scammers try to take advantage of people at this time of year and unfortunately people will fall victim to their ever increasingly sophisticated scams. These criminals are particularly active over Christmas so it is vital people remain cautious.
More than a million scam text messages will be sent across the UK in the week around Christmas and now more than half of them will use parcel deliveries to try to trick people.
So far this year there are reports of over ten times more scam messages than last year. Given how much business has moved online this year, it is easy to fall victim to these fake messages or emails with scammers taking full advantage of the times.
Impersonation scams have also more than doubled this year, so I would urge people to be careful with their personal data and information. Don’t give out any personal details unless you are completely sure who you are giving it to.
Royal Mail have said they will never text or email asking for money or more information, if you see this you should report it to be safe. Currently only about a quarter of us report these but Royal Mail is asking us to send them details so they can take action. Consumers can forward any suspicious message to 7726 or via the Royal Mail website. The regulator Ofcom also has information about scams on its website.
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Royal Mail website for reporting scams: https://www.royalmail.com/help/scam-protection
Ofcom advice: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/scams
