More than 400,000 Scots have fallen victim to a financial scam at some point in their lives, new research by Bank of Scotland and YouGov has revealed.

XPS Pensions Group has uncovered a surge in the number of ‘red flags’ being reported on pension transfers, indicating warning signs of scam activity, from 13% in June 2018 to 34% in June 2019.

The FCA and Action Fraud have warned the public over scams carried out via bogus online trading platforms, as it was revealed £27m had been fleeced from investors.

A group of fraudsters were jailed for a combined 17 years and nine months today for their part in an elaborate wine investment scam which conned nearly £1m out of investors, many of which were elderly and vulnerable.