FOLLOWING a meeting with Advice Direct Scotland, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Claire Baker, is urging residents to be alert to potential scammers and to follow advice from the new consumer advice service, consumeradvice.scot.

Common scams include bogus callers who are offering services such as landscape gardening or maintenance work in a bid to gain access to properties; online marketplace traders selling fake goods; and fake emails claiming to be from companies including Amazon, banks, or Government departments.

Scams cost the UK economy up to £10bn a year, and 53% of people over 65 have been targeted by scams. However, only 5% of scams are reported.

consumeradvice.scot was launched in April 2019 with financial support from the Scottish Government following the devolution of consumer powers, and is operated by the charity Advice Direct Scotland. It provides free, impartial and practical advice directly to consumers in Scotland. If more potential scams are reported to consumeradvice.scot, the organisation can work with Trading Standards and Police Scotland to raise awareness and prevent more people being scammed.

Claire Baker said: “Hundreds of people across Mid Scotland and Fife fall victims to scams every year.

“I am urging people to be alert to the signs of scams so they can avoid being left out of pocket and to report scams in order to prevent others being targeted.

“There is no shame in being conned as scammers use sophisticated techniques to trick people, but it’s important to report any suspicions to consumeradvice.scot so that action can be taken.”

Andrew Bartlett, Chief Executive of consumeradvice.scot, said: “Realising that you may have been the victim of a scam can be extremely upsetting and worrying.

“As Scotland’s new consumer advice service, we are working hard to make people more aware of scams, and advise those who are scammed.

“It’s very important that any potential scams are reported to us as soon as possible so that we can raise awareness with Trading Standards and the police.”