Scam Share Bulletin - 17/04/2025
The latest Scam Share Bulletin from Trading Standards Scotland includes the following:
- Recently Reported Scams
- Council Impersonation Scams: Universal Credit
- Consumer Rights: Know Your Rights
- Recruitment Scams: Cryptocurrency
- QR Code Scams
- Ongoing Scams / Campaigns
- Ticket Scams
- Solar Panel Scams
Read the latest Scam Share Bulletin here:
The Latest Scam Share Bulletin
Get Safe Online and CIFAS have launched a new Check a Website page, an easy-to-use online tool which
helps you to determine whether a website is likely to be legitimate or a scam before you visit it.
Where to report scams
Scams Bulletins from Aberdeenshire Council's Trading Standards Department - Bulletin 110 - 04/04/2025
Topics current in Aberdeenshire include:
- Bogus Callers and Rogue Traders
- Miscellaneous
- A message from Environmental Heath
- Know Your Rights Campaign 2025
- Single use vape ban is a moving target
- The Little Booklet of Phone Scams is available to read online.

- Scams Talks offered for local groups
Read the latest Scams Bulletin No. 110 from Aberdeenshire Council's Trading Standards Department HERE
Earlier Bulletins are also available:
- Read Scams Bulletin No. 109 from Aberdeenshire Council's Trading Standards Department HERE

- Read Scams Bulletin No. 108 from Aberdeenshire Council's Trading Standards Department HERE
Police Scotland Cyber Byte - April
This months Cyberbyte is all about a Free Cyber Security Action Plan.
Read the Police Scotland Cyber Byte bulletin for April here:
Police Scotland Cyber Byte for April
Have you?
- Received an email which you’re not quite sure about? - forward it to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) at report@phishing.gov.uk
- Received a suspicious text message? - forward it to 7726. It won't cost you anything, and allows your provider to investigate the text and take action (if found to be a scam).
- Visited a website you think is trying to scam you? - report it to the NCSC Report a suspicious website - NCSC.GOV.UK
You can read the Little Book of Cyber Scams HERE
Aberdeenshire Resident Loses £4500 to Push Payment Fraud
An Aberdeenshire resident lost £4500 to scammers at the weekend in what is commonly
known as an Authorised Push Payment Fraud (APP).
APP scams happen when someone is tricked into sending money to a fraudster posing as a genuine payee.
With APP scams, criminals often try to persuade you to take action in a hurry. They make you panic before
you have time to think it through properly.
Be suspicious of a call out of the blue from someone claiming to be from a position of authority.
Take your time, don’t be pushed into making a rushed decision and speak to friends and family regardless
of what the criminals tell you. A genuine caller from the Police, Bank, HMRC or any trusted organisation
will never call to ask you to verify your personal banking details, pin number or password.
If you are the victim of a scam contact your bank as soon as possible as they may be able to stop the transfer.
The following Police Scotland booklets provide further advice regarding phone and cyber fraud.
CyberScotland Bulletin - Week 2025 - 24 February to 2 March
Community groups across Scotland are invited to sign up to events during ‘CyberScotland’ Week 2025 with events running for all audiences to find out about cyber security on a number of different levels. In doing this, everyone will play a vital role in building a safer digital nation and learn more about cyber security.
The theme for the week, “Can’t hack it?!?”, focuses on simple, everyday actions that can enhance cyber resilience for individuals and organisations alike.
We all face continuing threats from cyber criminals looking to exploit our dependency on the technology that underpins all aspects of modern life in our homes, workplaces and the services we use. We all need to build our awareness of the risks and become more cyber resilient.
In partnership with Siker, a leading UK based cyber security company with strong Scottish links, we are bringing you the Cyber Scotland Password Hashing Challenge. This challenge will show you the importance of strong passwords and free entry in to the prize draw for every password you crack. More information on the challenge can be found here and the challenge will run from the 24th to the 28th February.
Everyday actions to stay safe online
Taking the challenge or not, ‘CyberScotland’ Week encourages everyone to adopt simple practices recommended by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
For individuals, these include:
- Using strong, unique passwords for each site.
- Turning on two-factor authentication.
- Backing up data regularly and enabling automatic backups.
- Reporting phishing scams at work.
- Installing updates as soon as they are available.
For businesses and organisations, best practices include:
- Installing antivirus software.
- Preventing staff from downloading unapproved apps.
- Keeping IT equipment up to date through regular patching.
- Controlling the use of USB drives.
- Activating firewalls.
Police Scotland Rural Matters Newsletter for October
A bi-monthly bulletin produced by the Police Scotland North East Division Crime Reduction Team aimed at
keeping you up to date with what’s happening in our countryside
The October issue includes the following subjects:
- How partnership working is cracking down on organised crime gangs.
- The most common traffic offences encountered in rural areas.
- What makes a good chain for securing gates and property.
- Top 10 tips to help secure your rural property.
- Ways to help protect your property from flytipping.
Read the October Newsletter HERE 
Thefts of Oil
Police are warning residents in Aberdeenshire to consider the security of their oil storage tanks after seeing recent thefts of oil from them.
Read more
Where to report scams
Report suspicious behaviour in your community to Police Scotland on 101 or 999 in an emergency
Report all scams to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 or through their web site at:
https://www.advice.scot/
Scam emails should be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre via their new Suspicious Email Reporting Service at:
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/report-suspicious-emails/
You can also forward suspicious emails to the National Cyber Security Centre at report@phishing.gov.uk.
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.
Feel free to feedback any personal experience or information you may have of localised SCAMS as this
allows Neighbourhood Watch Scotland to feed back any trends, types and general intelligence to their key partners.
Stay Safe.
Contact Neighbourhood Watch at the following email address:
info@neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk
Original Message Sent By Mark Armstrong (Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, NWS Co-ordinator, Scotland)

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