We are taking part in the annual Scams Awareness campaign, which is running from 14 – 27 June. This campaign, which also includes Police Scotland, Trading Standards and a host of other agencies, aims to give people the skills and confidence to spot scams and report them.
We lead Citizens Advice Scotland’s Scams Action service alongside Stirling CAB which has been operating since September 2019. During this time, we have seen a wide range of scams, for example cases where people have transferred money to fake bank accounts, or builders taking money to do work and then disappearing. During the pandemic, we’ve seen the rise in online scams from text message delivery scams, fake Covid-19 vaccines to websites/texts pretending to be from HMRC offering self-employment grants. What is most pertinent to mention is that these scams are becoming more and more sophisticated.
CAB Advice on How to Spot a Scam
Here are some of the main warning signs of scams we are encouraging people to look out for:
- It seems too good to be true – like an email saying you’ve won a competition you don’t remember entering
- Someone you don’t know contacts you unexpectedly
- You’re being urged to respond quickly so you don’t get time to think about it or talk to family and friends
- You’ve been asked to pay for something urgently or in an unusual way – for example by bank transfer or gift vouchers
- You’ve been asked to give away personal information
Who people can contact
We are encouraging people to seek advice immediately if they think they’ve been scammed. There’s a number of ways they can do this:
- Contact Clacks CAB (or their local CAB if not resident in Clacks)
- Contact Citizens Advice Scotland’s Scams Action Helpline on 0808 250 5050 or the Web Chat service
- Report scams or suspected scams to Police Scotland (dial 101)
Yours sincerely,
Jonny Miller
Managing Director
