Scams

Zoom is a video conferencing app. Zoom Bombing is a cyber attack on your video call where an individual or a group of people enter it without the permission of the host. These individuals then display offensive or explicit images in order to cause distress to the recipients.

During the Coronavirus emergency period, video conferencing is helping many people to work remotely and allowing us to stay in touch with our families and friends. Unfortunately as worldwide use of video conferencing increases, so has the reporting of cyber attacks .

The links in Related Information provide details of how to secure your Zoom meeting and prevent unwanted joining.

If you have experienced zoom bombing, this can reported to Zoom and depending on the nature of the content, your Local Police Force.

A phone scam is where a fraudster calls you on the phone or sends a text, to try to trick you into giving them personal information, bank details or money. Scams are increasingly clever and sophisticated, as a result they catch people out. It isn't just the elderly who are susceptible to scams but it is the elderly who are often targeted.

Tips to reduce your risk of being scammed:

• Never do anything you don't want to or make decisions on the spot.
• Always check their credentials.
• Ask someone you trust for a second opinion.
• Do not give away any personal information.
• Share your experience with others to lower their risk of being scammed.

Some callers will claim to be from your bank, for example, and to confirm that they are genuine, they will ask you to call them back using the proper telephone number for that bank / company. However, when scammers do this, they remain on the line when you hang up and dial the bank's number, so that you remain connected to them. To ensure they are genuine, make another call to someone you know, before calling them back, so that you know the original call has been disconnected.

The missed call scam is when fraudsters telephone you but hang up before the call is answered. Many people will ring back in case it is urgent. These calls can incur premium-rate charges and payments can be applied for just connecting the call, regardless of how long you stay on the line. In some cases you may hear a long recorded message to keep you on the phone for as long as possible so that the charges mount up. The scammers get a share of the revenue generated by the calls.

If you are concerned that you or a relative have receive a scam call or text, hang up or delete the text. You can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit their website (see link in related information) to report it.

You can reduce unwanted phone calls by:

• signing up the Telephone Preference Service, this registration service is free, please see the links in Relation Information for details;
• investing in a caller ID service from your phone provider, and only take calls from numbers that you recognise;
• investing in a phone that blocks unknown numbers
• removing your details from the public phone directory;
• reporting silent / abandoned calls to Ofcom (see link in related information).

A postal scam is a letter sent with the sole intention of gaining money through deception. Scam mail is mass produced and made to look like a personal letter or important document, to trick the recipient into sending cash, make money transfer or disclosing personal information.

Here are common types of postal scams to be aware of:

Lotteries and prize draws
These are two of the most common scams. Victims are told they have won a fantastic prize or large amount of cash but are asked to send some sort of fee to release it. A genuine lottery won't ever ask you to pay a fee to collect your winnings.

Psychics and clairvoyants
Scammers claiming to be able to see into the future, say they have information about your impending fate and you must pay them to find out what it is.

Parcel delivery scam
A card is posted through the victim's door stating that a delivery service was unable to deliver a parcel and that they need to contact the service by phone on the number provided on the card. This is usually a premium rate number with a long recorded message, causing the victim to receive an expensive phone bill.

Pyramid schemes
A scammer advertises an investment scheme and claims it offers extraordinary profits for little or no risk. You are required to pay a fee to enter the scheme and get financial rewards for recruiting friends or family to also enter the scheme. In reality the product you are investing in is usually worthless or non-existent and your money is not invested but simply passed on to the scammers.

Here are some steps to prevent you from falling victim to postal scams:

• Never respond to scam letters, as you are likely to get more if you do.
• Be wary of anyone who writes to you out of the blue, claiming that you have won something or can earn high rewards for a low investment.
• Does the letter contain bad spelling or grammar? If so, it's a scam.
• If a letter claims to be from a genuine source, contact the relevant organisation using details from their website and not those provided in the correspondence.
• Are they asking you for money? Always start from the position that any request for money is suspicious unless proven otherwise. Don't send any money.
• If you have received scam post and you are worried, talk to someone you trust, such as a friend or family member.

Although many people feel embarrassed about falling for a scam, there's nothing to be ashamed of, and you should not be worried about reporting it. Many people fall victim to scams, and fraudsters have a range of techniques to trick people and are trying new scams all the time.

If you believe you have fallen victim to a postal scam you can report the incident to Action Fraud, please see the link in related information.

Postal scams can also be reported to Royal Mail, who run a joint initiative with Trading Standards to investigate reports of scam mail.

A good piece advice to always remember is that if something seems too good to be true then it more than likely is.

There are many lottery scams in circulation from all over the world. Some are known as advance fee fraud, this is because they will tell you that in order to claim your prize money you have to send them some money first. This could be a fixed amount or a percentage of your alleged prize fund. No real lottery company would ask you to pay a fee before being able to claim your prize. If you pay the fee it is more than likely that you will not get your money back or ever see any of the supposed jackpot.

People have been defrauded out of vast amounts of money. It always pays to be sceptical when parting with money to a company/person you do not know anything about. A lot of 'scammers' ask for a certificate of non drug/terrorism (or similar) in order to appear more official, which as far as we are aware does not exist.

A further point to consider is whether you have actually entered into a lottery? Large amounts of money are not just handed out to random people. If you have received an email, look at the website or email address to see if it is genuine, and if it is an authentic lottery company. If not then do not enter into any correspondence. Do not open attachments unless you are confident about the contents.

A recent scam is a letter purporting to be from the police confirming the authenticity of a letter regarding a lottery win. This is not true; the police do not authenticate commercial organisations.

The best advice is to delete the email/text message or hang up the phone. Do not enter into correspondence with the companies and do not send any money or personal details.

Scam emails, texts and calls can be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre, please see the link in Related Information for details. 

This is known as 'phishing ' where the same email gets sent out to many people and the odds are that someone will reply.

There are a lot of different scams going around with the same theme. Either you are a long lost relative of a recently deceased person, you have been chosen to inherit a large amount of money from a person who does not have any living relatives, or maybe you have won on the lottery.

If you were a long lost relative it is unlikely that the executors would make contact with you via email. Is the phone number a mobile? Solicitors and executors of wills do not just hand over large sums of money without very thorough checks, so before you go any further check out the source of the communication. Go and speak to them in person at the Law Firm (if it is a scam it will not have been sent by lawyers at the firm, assuming it is a real firm that has been mentioned in the communication). Make sure they sent the letter. Payment for the execution of a will comes out of the dead person's estate not from the people likely to receive a bequest. It's better to take that sort of trouble than pay out a lot of money on the basis of an email and a phone call to a mobile.

A recent scam is a letter purporting to be from the police confirming the authenticity of a letter regarding a lottery win. This is not true; the police do not authenticate commercial organisations.

DO NOT give out your personal details, bank account details or send any money to anyone who sends you such an email. Many people have been defrauded out of a lot of money. No matter how official it sounds it is highly unlikely that you will receive any money.

If something seems too good to be true then it usually is.

Scam emails, texts and calls can be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre, please see the link in Related Information for details. 

Yes it is.

You will pay the money into the bank and the cheque will more than likely clear. You will send off the car/other property and the remaining money and keep the 10%. A few days later your bank will contact you and inform you that the cheque is in fact stolen or fraudulent and they will debit your account for the full amount of the cheque.

You will have lost the car/other property, the full amount of the cheque and also any remaining money that you sent the person back.

If you are at all unsure of a buyer then do not go ahead, wait for a genuine buyer. If that buyer is from overseas speak to your bank about the best and most secure method of receiving payment.

If you are a shop owner or employee and you know or suspect the person who has passed it to you then you should put the note in a bag to preserve any fingerprint evidence and hand the note into the nearest police station. If there is no suspect the police may not get involved and you should therefore hand the note into a bank.

As a shop owner/business owner you should contact your local crime prevention officer who will be able to advise you on preventing further instances of this happening, and can ascertain whether there are any other shops or businesses in the area that have received any so that appropriate action can be taken.

If you have been passed a forged bank note in change when you have bought something you should hand it into the local police station and give details, if at all possible, of where you were given it. The police will keep the note as evidence.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES try to use or pass on the note to someone else. The penalty could be up to 10 years in prison and it just isn't worth the risk.

A lot of the information contained in these emails are urban myths, such as, if you are being forced to take money out at a cash machine, put your pin in backwards and the police will be notified. This is not true. There are occasions when although the content of the email is not necessarily true, the advice is good sensible advice and should be followed, such as locking car doors etc.

It would be very rare for police to circulate such emails, all press releases are done via the force's websites or through local and national media outlets.

Just because the car is advertised on a reputable site such as Autotrader or Ebay does not automatically mean that the seller is genuine. Many criminal gangs have been using reputable sites to advertise cars that don't belong to them or don't even exist.

Once the buyer decides that they want the car they are then taken to a fake website where they hand over the cash for a car that they will never see. The website is supposed to hold on to the cash until the vehicle is received (supposedly an independent place to hold the money whilst the deal is done), but it goes straight into the bank accounts of the criminal gangs, most of whom are based abroad.

There are a few ways to spot a fraudulent car sale:

• check the address and postcode are correct
• if it is supposed to be a big company there should be a landline and not just a mobile number
• check the mobile number and look out for suspicious voicemail messages
• look for spelling mistakes
• be very wary if you cannot meet the buyer in person and physically see the car before you buy it.
• It's better to miss the 'bargain' than lose a lot of money. Don't let the red mist of greed take hold of you, and think things through objectively.

See the website in related information for more details.

Using online dating websites is becoming a popular way to meet people and potentially find love. Scammers take advantage of this and use the sites as an opportunity to scam victims out of money by claiming they have developed feelings for them, or even pretending to be someone else entirely (also known as 'cat fishing').

The same common sense approach must be used as with any scam - if it seems to good to be true, it probably is! If someone is asking you to transfer money, it is likely they are not who they say they are and it is important to be wary of what they are telling you, no matter how believable their story seems.

Below are a few tips to ensure you stay safe online and know what signs to look out for:
◾ Pick a reputable dating website.
◾ Avoid over sharing and divulging your personal information.
◾ Never send money or give out your bank details; once the money is sent, it is highly unlikely you will be able to retrieve it.
◾ Do their pictures look too good to be true, or you think you have seen them somewhere else? Use this service to find out: Search with an image on Google

◾ Ask lots of questions and suggest arranging a phone call to determine whether they are genuine.
◾ Be sceptical - if you are suspicious, report your concerns initially to the dating website.
◾ If you have lost money due to an online scam, you can report it to Police Scotland via their non-emergency number: 101.