Metropolitan and Strathclyde police scam

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I’ve just heard of a new Metropolitan and Strathclyde police scam, that is taking people’s money from them.

Apparently messages are sent through “pop-up” windows telling computer users their machine has been locked by the police because they have allegedly been viewing adult content online.

The victim is instructed to call a telephone number and pay a £100 fine. The message looks like it has come from Strathclyde Police but of course it hasn’t.

A spokesman for the force said an investigation had been launched to trace the source of the scam and asked anyone affected to contact police. You can also contact Actionfraud to let them know.

“We would like to assure the public that this is internet scam and has absolutely nothing to do with Strathclyde Police and that our organisation never asks the public for money,” the spokesman said. “We would urge the public not to follow the instructions on screen or call the number given or send any money. ”

Again, it’s one of those scams where you have to ask yourself “why would this police force contact me? how do they have my IP address?”. Anything like this can be cleared up by simply calling the force and you will be put right.