OLDER Scots are being given master classes in how to protect themselves against online fraudsters in a new anti-cyber scamming initiative run by police and the prosecution service.

Around 50 people over the age of 65 have already received advice from a course which began yesterday about how to keep their personal and bank account details safe online.

Tips offered include changing passwords regularly, using passwords difficult for hackers to crack and never giving away security or login information.

Police Scotland and the Crown Office organised the pilot course at Satrosphere Science Centre in Aberdeen, where they worked alongside Silver City Surfers, which promotes computer literacy among older people.

Sessions will be rolled out elsewhere in the country over the next two years.

Liz Hunter, volunteer co-ordinator with Silver City Surfers, said: "The presentation was informative. The overall message was don't be afraid of the internet, but be aware of how it can be used by criminals."

Courses are being aimed at elderly people because they are seen as easy targets by criminals.

Cyber scamming includes any type of fraud that uses email, web sites, chat rooms or message boards to carry out scams.

Criminals often try to gather personal details from computer users to sell to other fraudsters.

Information such as names, addresses and phone numbers, email addresses and passwords can be sold for £20 or £30, with the criminals making huge sums of money by gathering and selling such personal details.

Among those caught for online fraud include Lee Elwood, from Glasgow, who was jailed for four years at Leeds Crown Court in 2005 after a £6.5million sting. He and another fraudster used spam-emails to defraud computer users out of account details. Elwood, then 25, was convicted for conspiring to launder the proceeds of phishing - the technique used to gain personal information for identity rackets.

CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service, estimates around £341m has been lost to cyber scams across the UK during the previous 12 months.

In one case, a 78-year-old woman received a call from someone reputedly being from the bank's "fraud squad". She was told that large withdrawals had been made on her account and that staff were checking that these had been authorised by her. She refused to give details of her bank card number and later discovered the "official" was bogus.

David Bernard, equality ambassador for age at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said it was particularly "detestable" conmen should prey on the most vulnerable in society.

Detective Inspector Eamonn Keane, of Police Scotland, added: "Police Scotland is committed to keeping people safe both in the virtual and real world."

l The banking umbrella group BBA has launched a fraud awareness campaign after a poll for YouGov revealed four million Britons could be taken in by internet and telephone scams.