Police Scotland launch massive anti-fraud drive as victim numbers soar during Covid-19 pandemic

A major campaign targeting fraudsters has been launched after it emerged the number of cases in Scotland have risen by almost a quarter.

Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign

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 use the internet more and more to target victims. An increase of 2,264 crimes the previous year.

Fraud warning: DCC Malcolm Graham

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.

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. Our ambitious Cyber Strategy, published in September, sets a clear direction for how we will tackle the threat, risk and harm from digitally-enabled crimes including fraud.”

DCC Graham added: “Sadly, during the current pandemic when people have been at home, the occurrence of fraud has also risen. Our management information showed that fraud increased by 45% in the first six months of 2020-21 compared to the same period last year.

“Police Scotland is absolutely committed to working with a wide range of partners to pursue anyone who sets out to cause harm and misery in our communities and make Scotland a hostile environment for them to operate.

“We remain vigilant and I would urge the public to do the same to reduce the risk of becoming a victim.”

Katy Worobec, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance said: “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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