Kenneth Gibson MSP has urged people to be vigilant following an increase in reports of scams across Scotland.
There is evidence that fraudsters are increasingly targeting the public and organisations of all sizes with emails, texts, telephone calls, social media messages and online shopping scams relating to the outbreak.
Police Scotland has launched a new Shut Out Scammers resource to protect the public and businesses from COVID-19 related scams. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has also launched an email reporting service, which can be used to report any suspicious activity.
Kenneth said:
"While the community response to the coronavirus outbreak has been overwhelmingly positive, others are taking advantage of the situation, sending unsolicited emails, phone calls and text messages in attempt to con people.
"Everyone should take extra care to ensure that they ask for identification from all doorstep callers and never hand over any personal information on the doorstep, online or on the phone.
"It’s vital that people remain vigilant against scams during this challenging time and report any suspicious activity to the police."
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