Warning over scam

PEOPLE in Shetland are being warned about a scam advertising the opportunity to work from home.

SIC trading standards says such offers are “rarely as simple as they appear and there is a risk that you could end up out of pocket rather than earning money”.

The way the scam works is the employer sends a cheque to the employee, asking them to pay it into their own bank account, deduct their wages, and then send the remaining money to a third party.

Once the money transfer – to a service such as Western Union or MoneyGram – has gone through, the original payment is discovered to be fraudulent and the bank withdraws that money from the employee’s account, leaving them hundreds or even thousands of pounds out of pocket.

David Marsh, leader of the local authority’s trading standards team, said: “This is a particularly heartless type of scam, especially at this time of year when people are trying to earn some money to help pay for Christmas.”

You can report such scams online at www.shetland.gov.uk/tradingstandards or by phoning 01595 744887