The latest news on scams from National Trading Standards

Three men in a van scamming Saltcoats and Stevenston residents

The trio reportedly turn up at a resident’s door wearing work safety clothing and offer to carry out gardening work.
They agree a price and do the work before demanding more money for waste disposal.

To read more, click here

Urgent warning of ‘fake police’ scam in North Yorkshire

Residents across North Yorkshire are being targeted by a scam caller claiming to be DC Mason Greenwood from West Yorkshire Police, with over 20 reports in the last two weeks alone.

North Yorkshire Police is issuing an urgent warning to anyone receiving a call of this nature to hang up immediately.

The worrying rise in SMS phishing scams

The latest scam campaign focuses on self-employed professionals who may be receiving assistance through the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, leveraging SMS messages to warn of potential eligibility for a tax refund. To read more, click here

Dunfermline pensioner saved from handing over £13,500 to criminals

A Dunfermline pensioner was saved from handing over thousands of pounds to criminals thanks to a crime prevention partnership.
The 86-year-old woman went to the local branch of her bank in the town last July to ask for £13,500 be transferred to an unknown account. To read more, click here

Big increase in ‘money flipping’ investment scams with Instagram users scammed out of thousands

Action Fraud said it received 164 reports in June from people falling victim to fraudulent investment schemes, referred to as a ‘money flipping’ service offered by users on the Instagram social media platform. These reports have amounted to a combined financial loss of £358,809. To read more, click here

Greater Manchester Police warns over ‘money mules’ and online ‘get rich quick’ scams

Criminals will often use fake job adverts or create social media posts about opportunities to make money quickly, in order to lure potential money mule recruits.
The money mule will then agree to share their bank details so that cash can be deposited into their account for them to follow instructions to send it into another bank account, keeping a small amount of the money for themselves. To read more, click here

Reports suggest spike in vaccine-related phishing campaigns

When the COVID-19 pandemic picked up steam in its initial spread across the world in March, instances of pandemic-related phishing campaigns were rife across the internet, but the more recent ones are exploiting hopes for a vaccine.
In these campaigns, attackers send emails with subject lines that include deceptive vaccine-related content, which inevitably conceal malicious links in the body. These links lead to a malicious file usually in the form of .exe, .xls or .doc. To read more, click here

COVID-19 Council Tax reduction email scam

Officials from Stratford-on-Avon District are warning residents, following reports of an email hitting inboxes claiming to be from GOV.UK, offering a council tax reduction.

The email is covered in the branding of the UK government and is signed off by the ‘Government Digital Service Team’. To read more, click here

Friends Against Scams

SCAMchampions are Friends Against Scams who want to do more.
They can host awareness sessions to recruit Friends and drive Friends Against Scams forward in their communities or workplace.

SCAMchampions attend an additional training session, either online or face-to-face, to give them a fuller understanding of the laws surrounding scams and some presentation tips.

For more information on the role, or to become a SCAMchampion, check our website here.