John Donald, an entrepreneur who sells robotic falcons worldwide, has become a victim of cybercrime during the pandemic, despite his tech-savvy background.
Donald, a 72-year-old grandfather, revealed that fraudsters targeted his family business when it faced a drastic 95% decline in turnover. Reluctantly, he succumbed to their demands and transferred nearly £100,000 to a fraudulent bank account. The incident caused immense stress for Donald and was described by him as an experience he wouldn't wish upon anyone.
Recent statistics released by Police Scotland indicate a concerning 68% rise in fraud cases since 2018, with a majority of them occurring online.
Donald's company, Robop, which manufactures robot peregrine falcons for bird pest control, experienced significant setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was on a Friday afternoon in December 2020, at around 16:30, when Donald received a call that initiated this distressing ordeal. The caller, speaking with an Edinburgh accent, claimed to be part of a joint banking task force and informed Donald about fraudulent activities in his account.
Initially skeptical, Donald probed the caller, but their extensive knowledge about him and his business convinced him of their credibility. Unable to reach his bank on another phone, Donald's suspicions grew stronger.
The caller then intensified the pressure, citing a limited time window to resolve the issue due to discrepancies between their system and his. In the course of an hour-long conversation, the fraudsters persuaded Donald to transfer funds between his accounts, leaving him feeling foolish afterward but seeing no alternative at the time.
Fortunately, a friend directed Donald to the Cyber and Fraud Centre, where he sought assistance and Donald's bank refunded the stolen amount six weeks later.
Jude McCorry, the center's CEO, revealed that others had not been as fortunate. She added, "We've seen a recent fraud where there was £700,000 transferred on a property deal that went to the wrong account.
"That involved an individual rather than a company. It was huge and the investigation is still going on. Instead of always reacting to these crimes, we need to look at how we prevent it."
Police Scotland acknowledges that cybercrime is significantly underreported, with the published figures representing only a fraction of the actual problem.
The detection rate for fraud has halved in recent years, standing at a mere 16% of cases. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Freeburn warned about the increasing involvement of Scottish crime groups in cybercrime and fraud.
He added, "What we have seen over the last year is emerging serious and organised crime groups operating in that space, trying to exploit the Scottish public through cyber, through fraud, and we are now actively working against those gangs.
"This is something we are not going to arrest our way out of. There is a significant threat in Scotland.
"We are having successes in identifying people and recovering money in consultation with banking and financial partners.
"But we are also improving our prevention messaging, making it very clear to the public how they can help themselves by not giving out details, making sure their software is up to date on their computers and reporting anything suspicious to us."
To address this escalating threat, Police Scotland has allocated an additional £4.3 million to its cybercrime strategy, focusing on acquiring new equipment and providing training to operational officers.
The force has also developed an ethical protocol for the use of emerging technologies. Meanwhile, John Donald urges the public to recognize the sophistication of cyber scams and recommends keeping the bank's fraud helpline on speed dial while emphasizing the importance of prompt responses from banks when people call these numbers.
