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Police Scotland launches new campaign to combat rise in fraud


By Staff Reporter

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Police Scotland has launched a Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign.
Police Scotland has launched a Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign.

Police Scotland is running a major campaign to help people protect themselves from fraud which has become one of the most commonly experienced crimes in the country.

Cases of criminals exploiting vulnerable and unsuspecting people and persuading them to part with money or personal information are continuing to rise.

During the six-week campaign, in partnership with Take Five to Stop Fraud, officers will also warn that criminals are becoming more sophisticated and convincing in their methods, and taking advantage of advances in technology.

Latest Scottish Government figures show that in 2019-20, fraud increased by 23 per cent and since 2010-11 has gone up by 33 per cent.

In the last year (April 2019- March 2020), there were 11,939 crimes of fraud recorded in Scotland including many committed online as criminals increasingly use the internet to target victims.

It represents an increase of 2264 crimes the previous year.

Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham.
Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham.

Police Scotland’s Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said: "Fraud, in any form, is a despicable and cowardly crime with, often anonymous criminals targeting the most vulnerable people in our communities.

"We know these faceless crooks will take any opportunity to exploit any situation to their own nefarious advantage.

"We are well aware that fraud continues to rise and want to take the opportunity to warn the public and businesses take a few steps to protect themselves and remain vigilant.

"Our advice is clear and the public should be aware that a telephone call, email or text may not be from the person or organisation it appears to come from.

"Never click on a link from an unsolicited email or text, and remember that banks, police or other legitimate organisations will never ask you for personal banking information or ask you to move funds to a different account.

"With people spending more and more of their time in the cyber and digital space and the growth of the internet has seen otherwise traditional crimes, such as fraud, being carried out online."

He added Police Scotland's ambitious cyber strategy, published in September, set a clear direction for how the force would tackle the threat, risk and harm from digitally-enabled crimes including fraud.

Throughout the campaign members of the public and businesses will be encouraged to follow straightforward and impartial advice – Stop, Challenge and Protect - aimed at reducing the chances of becoming a victim of financial fraud.

This includes online fraud, email deception as well as phone-based and social media scams.

Essential information will be advertised on social media, digital screens as well as on Spotify.

Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf said while levels of crime including those involving robbery, housebreaking and theft had fallen over the last decade, reported cases of fraud had risen by a third over the same period, at a time when there was increased use of online and mobile technologies.

"During 2020, we have seen unscrupulous individuals using the lockdown and on-going restrictions as an opportunity to target some of our most vulnerable citizens and exploit businesses," he said.

"Such criminal behaviour is absolutely abhorrent and the Scottish Government is working with police and other partners to pursue those who cause harm and misery to our communities and to support people to stay safe.

"As we enter the festive season, I welcome Police Scotland’s timely campaign urging people to ‘stop, challenge and protect’ in order to help households, businesses and communities to keep themselves safe and secure this Christmas and into 2021.

"In addition, anyone can sign up to receive trusted alerts and advice from Neighbourhood Watch Scotland on a range of safety and security issues targeted to their local area."

Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said the banking and finance industry was committed to protecting customers from scams and was working closely with law enforcement and others to target the criminal gangs responsible, with almost £7 in £10 of fraud prevented in the first half of this year.

"Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police," she said.

"Particularly with the impact of Covid-19 and an increasingly digitised society, criminals are ruthlessly adapting their methods to target consumers online, via social media and over the phone.

"These scams are often sophisticated and well-researched: we encourage customers to be wary of unsolicited calls, emails, or text messages and avoid clicking in links in any unexpected correspondence.

“We would urge people to follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign to keep themselves safe from fraud. Always take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information, and don’t let a criminal rush or panic you into making a decision that you’ll later come to regret."




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