Trading Standards - Scam Survey Results

29th August 2024

Throughout June and July we ran the third annual Big Scottish Scam Survey, asking Scots about the scams they had experienced in the last year. Thank you to all those who responded.

99% of respondents had experienced an email, text, phone, doorstep or online scam in the last year. The ten most common scams were:
Delivery Scams
Amazon Scams
Energy Grant Scams
HMRC Scams
Bank Scams
Prize Draw Scams
WhatsApp Scams
Broadband Scams
Remote Access Scams
Online Shopping Scams

The most frequently experienced scams according to the 2024 survey were related to deliveries - these scams also topped the list in the 2022 and 2023 surveys.

Since the 2023 survey was carried out, there has been a rise in WhatsApp scams, where a scammer poses as a friend or family member and asks for money to be sent urgently. There was also an increase in scams related to medical/mobility aids as well as ticketing scams, rogue traders, courier fraud and buyer scams on online marketplaces.

81% of survey respondents had avoided a scam after seeing or reading about it, with 48% going on to report the scam.

Details and examples of the five most common scams are featured below.

Read the full report on the scam survey here
It is worth reading to be aware of many more scams.