Police in Scotland are warning deaf people about an advance fee fraud specifically directed at them which has seen one victim lose a five figure sum.
The scam starts with a message from a hacked Facebook account claiming that an allowance is being given by the Government and Deaf Commission Action on Hearing Loss (Royal National Institute of Deaf) to deaf people.
The victim is told that their name is on a winners list and that they have won £120,000 and a laptop. To claim the prize they have to send personal information and pay a sum of money up-front through a money transfer service.
The fraudsters come up with excuses as to why more money needs to be sent and delay as much as possible until the victim becomes suspicious and realise they have been scammed.
PC Shirley Buttercase, Equalities Officer with Fife Division, said: "This is a despicable fraud aimed at vulnerable members of our society which plays on their disability and the trust they place in others. It is a variation of a type of fraud which goes on all the time and our advice is always never to engage in anything which asks for money up-front, and if something sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.
For further information please visit the Scotland police website.
Please note that Action Fraud is not responsible for the content of external websites.
To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (textphone 0300 123 2050) or use our online fraud reporting tool.
Related links
Film warns deaf residents about internet fraudsters
Fraudsters using social media to pose as model agents
