Ayrshire police have advised the public to be wary of potential scams sent via WhatsApp from unknown numbers claiming to be family members.

To raise awareness of the fraudsters WhatsApp, Citizens Advice and the National Trading Standards’ Friends Against Scams are working together to launch ‘STOP. THINK. CALL.’

According to research done by WhatsApp, 59 per cent of people in the UK have said they have received or know someone who has received a scam message this year.

Around 17 per cent of people chose to ignore the message, 4 per cent replied to the message, 3 per cent called them to identify the number and 2 per cent of people made a payment to the unknown number.

STOP: Take Five before you respond. Make sure your WhatsApp two-step verification is switched on to protect your account; that you’re happy with your privacy settings.

THINK: Does this request make sense? Are they asking you to share a PIN code which has been sent to you? Are they asking for money? Remember that scammers prey on people’s kindness.

CALL: Verify that it really is your friend or family member by calling them directly.