5 days Ago By [email protected] (Eve Beattie)
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info ScotRail has issued a warning to passengers after a fake social media account swindled unassuming customers out of money.
The train operator warned customers on social media about a fake account advertising ScotRail Smartcards on Facebook for £2, despite them being free to order in reality. The unverified page - going by the handle ScotRail - shared a false advertisement. It claims the national rail operator is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is offering a 12 month ScotRail Smartcard at the 'special' price of £2.
The account added there are only 500 cards available and urged customers to 'hurry'. In a twisted attempt to substantiate the claims, several other fake accounts claiming they received and used their 'Smartcard'. The account has been active for just under a week and was still posting at the time of writing.
ScotRail's official account took to Facebook to warn of the fake page. They wrote: " Scam WARNING: We've received word that some more pages have popped up on Facebook pretending to be us in an attempt to get you to enter competition / purchase fake products. This is the only page that we have on Facebook and any products we're selling / competitions we're running will be shown here.
"A quick way to spot these fake accounts is by their very low number of followers and likes - the real ScotRail account has around 107,000 likes and 126,000 followers. If you come across these pages, please report them to Facebook ." Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.
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If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. ScotRail urged those who see 'suspicious' posts to send their social media the link. They penned: "If you see any posts that look suspicious, send us the link and we'll take a look.
If you see any posts that don't look like they've been posted by us please feel free to report the post or page." Victims who were unfortunate enough to fall for the ad revealed scammers had stolen more money from their account, after paying the £2. Fiona M Brawls said: "Too late, I found out after doing.
Yes I should have known better. They have continued to take more money" Lynne Gowans said: "Be warned indeed, I fell for it and had numerous amounts taken out of my account, it looks very real indeed! Hour on phone to bank and card cancelled but a pain now having to change all payment info!" James S Leighton said: "Total SCAM, can't believe I fell for It. Luckily my Bank blocked my account.
." Another customer warned of other scams circulating online. David Grieve wrote: "Also beware, the same Scammers are advertising Saltire Cards exactly the same offer.
" An official ScotRail Smartcard is free to order, and customers can register online and receive their card within five working days. Customers can buy and load train tickets onto Smartcards using the ScotRail website, the ScotRail phone app or at a ticket vending machine. Customers can load tickets, including Flexipass and Season Tickets to their Smartcard.
It allows travellers to avoid ticket queues and head straight to their train. You can click here to sign up for an official ScotRail Smartcard. Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
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