A NEW study has looked into how worried residents are when it comes to scams, including scam phone calls and scam emails.
The study examined the monthly average number of Google searches for things related to scams and scam protection, including ‘reporting a phone scam’, ‘how to spot a scam email’, and ‘how to spot a sales scam’.
The average number of Google searches each month for each search term was collected for 78 UK towns and cities with a population of at least 100,000, including Gloucester and Cheltenham.
Cheltenham were found to be the third most concerned about scams on an overall table, with an average of 70 searches per 100,000 people. Gloucester ranked seventh with 61 searches.
Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator said: "With 73% of UK adults being targeted by scams last year, which is equivalent to 40 million people, it is unsurprising that so many of us are worried about becoming a scam victim.
"The most searched-for keywords are 'reporting a scam email' and 'how to report a scam email’, suggesting that the majority of people are able to identify a scam and report it so that the authorities can do something about it.”
The news comes following previous scam warnings, including for Bank Holiday accommodation and new students heading to university.