Perth & Kinross Local Area Commander’s Bulletin

Online and Telephone Fraud

Rarely does a day go by where my officers don’t have to visit a member of the public to note details of an online or telephone fraud. This week I would like to highlight one of the oldest but regrettably still the most effective telephone frauds.

You’re sitting at home minding your own business when the telephone rings. It’s someone phoning from Microsoft to helpfully advise you that you have a virus on your computer and that you must act quickly to secure your data and protect your cherished photos. The call generally originates from India. They’ll ask you to turn on your computer and then they’ll get access to it in order to defeat the virus.

It all sounds very plausible but it is of course nonsense. Once they have control of the computer they will ‘fix’ the issue and ask for payment by debit or credit card. You give them all your details and they then start using those details to take further payments.

Microsoft will never contact you in this way. Indeed if you are concerned about computer viruses then there are numerous free software applications to choose from, including Microsoft’s own Windows Defender Antivirus which is built into the Windows 10 Operating System.

In fact if any business or company contacts you in this way it is worthwhile being wary. I have written numerous times about frauds involving people masquerading as bank staff to encourage people to transfer funds to a ‘safe’ account following some security breach.

And if you receive an email from a company asking to transfer money, even if it’s for an expected invoice, it is worth checking with the company by phone to confirm the bank details. Emails are not secure and as such can be manipulated by third parties looking to exploit our vulnerabilities.

These types of crimes can have a devastating effect on the victim, both financially and in terms of confidence and trust, so always be wary. If in doubt do nothing and phone the Police.

Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS)

Tuesday 1st October marked the four year anniversary of the Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS).

The scheme gives people at risk of domestic abuse the information they need to make an informed decision on whether to continue in the relationship or not and is one of our most effective tools in tackling domestic abuse in Scotland and could save someone’s life.

DSDAS is open to anyone who has concerns about a new partner’s abusive past or has concerns about another person’s new partner be it a potential victim, family member or friend. This is crucial as the complexities of controlling and coercive behaviours often mean the people themselves may not recognise the development of abuse or don’t feel able or ready to make an application themselves.

In the past year there were 924 disclosures making a total of 2760 disclosures since the scheme was launched. Each case is considered by a multi-agency panel to determine if it is lawful, proportionate and necessary to protect an individual.

If you are worried that your partner might have an abusive past, or you are worried about someone else then DSDAS could provide information that can help that person make a positive choice to protect themselves and their future.

For more information please follow the link below:

https://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/disclosure-scheme-for-domestic-abuse-scotland