Published Date: Jul 10th, 2020
Fife Council Trading Standards Team is again urging local people to join nearly 520,000 other UK residents and become a Friend Against Scams.
Friends Against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative which helps to prevent people from falling victim to scams. Recently released figures show however that only 53 Fife residents have signed up to it, which is a disappointing and disproportionately low figure.
Dawn Adamson, the Fife Council Trading Standards Service Manager said: “You can register as a Friend Against Scams by simply logging on to www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk and completing a short interactive online learning session which takes around 20 minutes. It will raise your awareness on how to spot a scam and assist you in supporting other people who may be susceptible to them. Once you have completed the session you will be encouraged to share your increased knowledge within the local community and given guidance on how to do so.
"Scams are unfortunately becoming more common and sophisticated, so a campaign like this is a huge help in trying to combat them. Fraudsters involved in this illegal activity are completely ruthless and will use any situation, including the COVID-19 pandemic, to con people out of their hard-earned money or obtain personal information from them. People living in Fife are as likely to be targeted as anyone else in the country so I would strongly encourage everyone who can, to become a Friend Against Scams.”
Louise Baxter, Team Manager at the National Trading Standards Scams Team, added: “It is time that we took a stand against scams. Friends Against Scams aims to tackle the lack of scams awareness by providing information to enable communities and organisations to understand scams, talk about scams and convey messages throughout communities about scam prevention and protection. I’d encourage anyone interested in stopping scams to visit the Friends Against Scams website and sign up. We are delighted with the support from Fife Council.”
For general advice on scams you can contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 or at www.consumeradvice.scot If you believe you have fallen victim to a scam you should contact Police Scotland as quickly as possible by calling 101.