25/08/22
Welcome to the latest edition of the Scam Share bulletin.
Stay Scam Aware and please keep sharing any relevant information in this bulletin with friends and family.
Suspicious Text Messages
If you receive a suspicious text message you can forward it to 7726. The free-of-charge ‘7726’ service enables your provider to investigate and take action if malicious content is found.
Recently Reported Scams
Delivery Insurance Scams
The Scam
A woman from Perth who had advertised a furniture set on Facebook Marketplace recently received a message from a prospective buyer to ask if it was still available. They expressed an interest in buying the furniture and said they would arrange for a courier to collect it.
The buyer then asked the woman to pay £100 for 'insurance' in case the furniture was damaged in transit, saying that she would get the money back as soon as they received the goods.
The woman refused to pay and stopped the transaction. As soon as the furniture was readvertised on the marketplace, she received another message from a buyer, who also asked her to pay £100 for delivery insurance. She immediately stopped that transaction too.
Several similar scams have been reported in recent months - in some cases, the scammers send an email with branding of a delivery company such as DPD which includes a link to pay for the 'insurance'.
How to Avoid
Be suspicious if a buyer on any online marketplace offers to pay for an item using an unusual method or if they ask you to pay any kind of insurance/delivery costs. If a buyer becomes aggressive, stop communicating with them.
Don't click on any links in suspicious emails. If you do click on a link, do not provide bank or security details and never download software on to your device.
Report any suspicious behaviour to the site you are using. If you have lost money, report this to Police Scotland on 101.
The Scam
As students prepare to return to college or university, they are being warned that scammers may post fake adverts for properties to rent, posing as landlords or letting agents.
Last week, one student at the University of Glasgow responded to an advert for a room to rent in the West End of the city. The 'landlord' asked her to pay a £750 deposit up-front, before she had even viewed the room. The student felt suspicious and did some research - the person who had advertised the flat did not in fact own it and it was not available to rent.
How to Avoid
Police Scotland advise that you should check that the landlord is legitimate before handing over a deposit - the details of most private landlords can be found on the Landlord Registry Service.
More tips on avoiding rental scams from Police Scotland:
Do not send any money or financial details until you are sure that the property exists and that the landlord has control of it. If possible, visit the property and if you are unable to do this, ask for evidence that the property exists such as safety certificates or tenancy agreements;
Ideally, wait until you have signed a contract in the letting agent's office before handing over any money - be wary if you are asked to pay via bank transfer or money transfer agents;
Be wary of adverts which do not list a contact phone number with a UK code.
The Scam
This week a man from the North of Scotland received a cold call from someone who said they worked for the local council and told him he was owed money in overpaid council tax. The scammer asked him to provide his bank account details so that he could receive the payment.
Another woman also recently received a similar cold call, purportedly from her local council, saying that she had overpaid her council tax by over £1,000 and was due a refund.
She was asked to pay £190 into a bank account, details of which were provided by the caller, in order to allow her refund to be processed.
The woman contacted her son to tell him about the refund before transferring the money and he advised her that the call was a scam.
How to Avoid
Any official information about council tax will come from the council in writing - they will never cold call residents to ask for bank details.
Some households in Scotland may be eligible for a council tax reduction but you will not receive an unsolicited call or email about it.
The safest way to check your eligibility is to use Citizens Advice Scotland’s 'Check My Council Tax' tool (www.checkmycounciltax.scot) or to phone their helpline on 0800 085 7145.
Don't give any details to a cold caller and don't agree to make any payments over the phone or to transfer money.
If you receive an unexpected call purportedly from your local council, hang up, clear the line and call the council using a publicly listed number to verify that the call was genuine.
Don't click on links in unsolicited emails or text messages telling you that you can claim a council tax reduction.
The Scam
There are still regular reports of rogue traders going door to door and offering to resurface roads or driveways.
Last week, two men visited several properties in the same area and offered to resurface their driveways, saying that they had tar left over from a recent job with the local council.
One householder asked for more details and the men quoted a price of £2 per square foot for the work.
They decided that they didn't want the work done, but the men began anyway, without providing the householder with any information about their cancellation rights. Once the job had been completed - to a poor standard - the men asked for a payment of £10,000, saying that they had needed more materials than originally expected.
We recently published a video featuring a case study from a Scottish consumer who experienced a similar scam. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/bSOdXRUH_aM
How to Avoid
Don't deal with cold callers. If you need to call a trader, find someone who has been vetted through a national or local authority approved trader scheme.
If a trader starts work on your property without being authorised and then demands payment, report them to Police Scotland.
Sign up for Neighbourhood Watch Scotland Alerts to stay up to date with what is going on in your community: www.neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk
Find out More
Find traders in Scotland who have been vetted by Trading Standards:www.trustedtrader.scot
The Scam
There are still regular reports from across Scotland of scam text messages asking you to click on a link to order a Covid testing kit.
One user of the Neighbourhood Watch Scotland Alert system received a text message this week saying:
"NHS: There has been an increase number of POSITIVE Corona cases in the UK. Order your free at home testing kit to ensure your safety and others."
The link in the message leads to a cloned NHS website which asks for your contact details and a small payment for 'postage'.
How to Avoid
NHS Scotland WILL NOT ask you to pay to take a test or to provide any financial details.
Most people in Scotland no longer need to test for coronavirus. However, if you are eligible, tests are still free to order from the NHS online (www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests) or by phoning 119.
Don't click on any links in unexpected text messages. If you do click on a link, do not provide bank or security details.
Throughout September we will be running a campaign aimed at raising awareness of scams linked to the ongoing cost of living crisis. As prices and bills continue to rise, many consumers will have financial worries heading into autumn and winter. Scammers may attempt to exploit these anxieties and to target people online and via cold calls, emails and text messages in an attempt to obtain their personal details and bank account information.
The campaign will run for four weeks and will focus on a different area each week:
Impersonation scams (including phishing and smishing messages related to tax rebates, bill refunds or grants/funding related to the cost of living crisis)
Misleading information about energy efficiency measures
Financial scams
Counterfeit goods and online shopping.
Each week, a webinar will be held with experts in each area. You are invited to submit questions to be put to these experts if there is something you would like to find out more about.
Information about how to watch the webinars will be published in next week's bulletin and on our website.
App - short for 'application', refers to a software program for computers or other devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Malware - malicious software that is designed to damage or gain unauthorised access to a computer or other device.
Phishing - the practice of sending fraudulent emails which often appear to be from well-known organisations or companies and ask the recipient to provide personal information or to visit a particular website.
QR Code - a square barcode that a smartphone camera can scan and read to provide quick access to a website or app.
Ransomware - malware that makes data or systems unusable until the victim makes a payment.
Remote Access - the ability to access a computer or device from another location. Anyone with remote access to a device can access all files stored on it.
Smishing - the same as phishing, but carried out via SMS (text) messages rather than emails.
Software - the set of instructions and programs that tells a computer how to operate.
Virus - a computer program designed to infect and damage legitimate software.
Official Contacts
If you feel threatened or unsafe, contact Police Scotland on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
