Lothian Buses has warned Edinburgh residents about a scam targeting city bus riders.
According to the company, fraudsters on Facebook have been making posts claiming that the first 500 residents to visit a website, complete a form and pay £2 will get a 6 month Ridacard.
Lothian has said that they are not offering any free Ridacards, and urge anyone who completed the survey and paid the £2 to contact their banking provider immediately.
In a post on Facebook, they wrote: “We’ve been made aware of another Facebook scam.
“Please do not click any links or provide bank information to a third party. If you have done so, please notify your banking provider immediately.”
The company’s Ridacards offer unlimited travel across the Lothian network, including the trams, East Coast Buses and Lothian Country.
It does not offer a six-month Ridacard, instead offering weekly cards for £24.50, monthly ones for £73, and yearly ones for £700.
Students are also able to get discounted Ridacards, and can purchase one which only covers the university term at a cost of £530.
Ridacards cannot be bought online, and are only available at one of the company’s Travel Hubs in Edinburgh.
The scammers claim in their social media posts and on their website that the giveaway is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Lothian Buses.
Visitors to the site are asked to complete a short survey, asking how they feel about Lothian Buses’ service, and are then asked to provide personal information.
After this, they are redirected to the website for a Cypriot do-it-yourself website building service, and asked to enter their card details for a £3 purchase.
In the fine print below the form for the card details, the website says that the £3 is for a four day trial of the company’s services, after which the user would be entered into a £92/month subscription with the firm.
When contacted by phone, the firm denied that it sold bus passes, and said that they only sold ‘digital services’.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
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