THE number of complaints about scams has increased by 14% in a year and a dedicated helpline is now taking 30 calls a week, according to consumer campaigners.

A total of 1,631 calls have been made to the Citizens Advice Scotland service in the past 12 months, up from 1,429 the previous year. Scams on dating websites and bogus websites claiming to be from the government are among the most common. Susan McPhe, head of policy at Citizens Advice Scotland, said: "It's very sad that there are so many people out there who are keen to exploit people's trust and relieve us of our hard-earned money through deceit and trickery."

But the good news is that Scots seem to be fighting back more.

"Our figures suggest that scams are on the increase in Scotland, but also that people are getting better at reporting them.