Stopping Scotland's Scammers (2015)

With a 14% increase in cases in the last year, fraudsters are on the increase in Scotland and they are finding new ways to con innocent people out of their hard earned cash. Not all victims fit the stereotype of who we would expect to be scammed, like vulnerable sections of society. New evidence actually shows that 31 to 40 year olds are the most likely group to be repeat victims of cons. New forms of financial scams are appearing online all the time including ‘romance scams' and ‘fake government websites'. While the Internet has become one of the main tools for scammers, postal contact and over the telephone still remains a major opportunity for con artists. In the series of three 30 minute programmes, STV will highlight the increasing rise in financial scams and inform the public how they can better protect themselves against fraud, using real-life case studies to illustrate the extent of the issue.