Edinburgh road blocked off as emergency services rush to scene
Emergency services have raced to the scene of an incident on a major road in Edinburgh.
It's understood police were called to a collision on Calder Road, at the Bankhead Roundabout, after the alarm was raised at around 9pm on Wednesday.
A number of officers were pictured in attendance alongside paramedics.
Images taken from the scene, which were shared with Edinburgh Live, show an ambulance and several cops handling the crash.
One eyewitness claimed it involved one silver and one black vehicle.
The exact nature of the incident or any injuries suffered as a result is so far unclear.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
I got spoofed and was forced to change my mobile number – it could happen to you too
Deputy consumer editor Lucy Andrews was a victim of a chilling identity fraud, she explains what happened PHONE HOME I got spoofed and was forced to change my mobile number – it could happen to you too Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IF you've ever been targeted by a scammer, you'll know it can be a scary and worrying experience. But has a fraudster ever pretended to be YOU, in order to trick people out of their hard-earned cash? Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 The Sun's deputy consumer editor Lucy Andrews had her number 'spoofed' - here's what happened Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd. That's exactly what happened to me, when I discovered that my phone number had been "spoofed" and crooks were using it to try and scam people. It's a horrible form of identity fraud and a cunning way for fraudsters to attempt to steal cash or money from unsuspecting victims, as the number appears to be from a trusted source. It all started six months ago, when I started getting mysterious phone calls from strangers claiming that they'd has missed calls from me. But when I checked my call log each time, I could see that I never made the call to that number. I would tell the caller that they made a mistake, and hang up the phone. I was suspicious that these were scammers trying to lure me into handing over money in some way, so I made sure to block the numbers after I put the phone down. But the calls kept coming and each time I kept blocking the number. That was until last week, when I received a WhatsApp out of the blue from a lady I didn't know. "Hello, did you call me?" the text read. I usually don't message back when I get these sorts of WhatsApp messages, as I'm wary of scammers. But I was confused when the lady sent a screenshot of her call log - and surprisingly, my phone number was at the top of the list. I decided to message back, explaining that I didn't call her. I thanked her for flagging the missed call, and said I would look into what happened. After contacting my phone company, ID Mobile, I was told that the most likely explanation for what had happened was that my phone number had been spoofed. They said there wasn't much the company could do about my spoofed number, although I had the option to change my phone number, which would cost £25. I was also told to report the issue to Action Fraud. The thought of a scammer using my number and pretending to be me to con money out of innocent people made me sick to my stomach. So I decided to bite the bullet, swallow the £25 charge, and put the experience behind me. Even better, I've not had a single scam call or text since I switched my number - before, I used to get at least one a week. However, there's nothing to stop my new number from being spoofed too. It's also been a massive inconvenience contacting all my friends, family, and organisations to let them know about my change of number. iD Mobile said: "We understand how frustrating it is for customers to receive calls from people claiming they've been contacted by them. "In this instance, it appears the number was spoofed — a common industry issue where fraudsters fake caller IDs without needing access to the number itself." I've been told that if I report it to Action Fraud, the £25 fee will be waived - which I'm planning on doing soon. Spoofing on the rise The main reason why scammers will spoof numbers is in order to target more victims without being caught up in something called the Do Not Originate (DNO) list. Ofcom and UK Finance launched the DNO list in 2019. Companies and organisations add to the list when a rogue number is reported, and this list is shared with telecoms providers to help them identify and block calls from these numbers. It's an effective tool in filtering through scam callers - but tech and cyber security expert David McClelland said scammers are exploiting a loophole. "Perhaps because of this DNO list - although it's difficult to say for sure - scammers are now also making calls that spoof individuals' mobile numbers," he said. Spoofing is becoming a big problem. The telcoms regulator, Ofcom, is so concerned about the growing threat of spoofing that it launched a consultation in July last year on how to address the issue. It said it was "concerned" that scam calls are coming from scammers who are spoofing UK mobile numbers. It said a call from a spoofed number could appear more trustworthy, and "victims are more likely to share personal information or to make a payment, which can lead to significant financial and emotional harm". It can therefore make it much easier for fraudsters to hunt down victims and steal their money. Some 5.7million Brits have been targeted by a mobile phone scammer more than 10 times, according to research from comparison site Uswitch. And an eye-watering £1.17billion was swiped by scammers in 2024 - roughly level to what was stolen in 2023. What can you do about spoofing? Worryingly, phone companies can't do a lot about spoofing, says Jake Moore from the cybersecurity firm ESET. "There's no solid bulletproof way to stop this sort of spoofing," he says. "However, it's a good idea to report it to Action Fraud and at extreme lengths, you can change your number. "This may be challenging for some people - but it will eradicate the problem if your phone number appears on a list that hackers delve into." My spoofing experience has been sobering, and has reminded me of the importance of remaining vigilant against scammers. Set your privacy settings to the highest level on your social media and messaging accounts. This is so people can't contact you or collect personal information about you - it's surprising how much we share on our accounts. Be wary of who you share your number with. "Try to reduce the amount of companies you give your phone number to," Jake said. "Most website forms will ask for it but not all of them will require it for the service or product to work. "By limiting where your number is divulged, it reduces the chance it will be breached." If you get a cold call, never rely on just using the caller ID as a way to verify who they say they are. It's worryingly easy for scammers to spoof a number. If someone says they are from your bank, then hang up and call the number on the back of your card, or through the mobile bank app. If someone says they are from an official organisation, like HMRC, hang up and look up the number to call back on the website. Being spoofed has made me realise the lengths that scammers will go to in order to trick you into handing over money. From now on, I'll be keeping a close eye on where I'm sharing my phone number.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
I got spoofed and was forced to change my mobile number – it could happen to you too
IF you've ever been targeted by a scammer, you'll know it can be a scary and worrying experience. But has a fraudster ever pretended to be YOU, in order to trick people out of their hard-earned cash? 1 That's exactly what happened to me, when I discovered that my phone number had been "spoofed" and crooks were using it to try and scam people. It's a horrible form of identity fraud and a cunning way for fraudsters to attempt to steal cash or money from unsuspecting victims, as the number appears to be from a trusted source. It all started six months ago, when I started getting mysterious phone calls from strangers claiming that they'd has missed calls from me. But when I checked my call log each time, I could see that I never made the call to that number. I would tell the caller that they made a mistake, and hang up the phone. I was suspicious that these were scammers trying to lure me into handing over money in some way, so I made sure to block the numbers after I put the phone down. But the calls kept coming and each time I kept blocking the number. That was until last week, when I received a WhatsApp out of the blue from a lady I didn't know. "Hello, did you call me?" the text read. I usually don't message back when I get these sorts of WhatsApp messages, as I'm wary of scammers. But I was confused when the lady sent a screenshot of her call log - and surprisingly, my phone number was at the top of the list. I decided to message back, explaining that I didn't call her. I thanked her for flagging the missed call, and said I would look into what happened. After contacting my phone company, ID Mobile, I was told that the most likely explanation for what had happened was that my phone number had been spoofed. They said there wasn't much the company could do about my spoofed number, although I had the option to change my phone number, which would cost £25. I was also told to report the issue to Action Fraud. The thought of a scammer using my number and pretending to be me to con money out of innocent people made me sick to my stomach. So I decided to bite the bullet, swallow the £25 charge, and put the experience behind me. Even better, I've not had a single scam call or text since I switched my number - before, I used to get at least one a week. However, there's nothing to stop my new number from being spoofed too. It's also been a massive inconvenience contacting all my friends, family, and organisations to let them know about my change of number. iD Mobile said: "We understand how frustrating it is for customers to receive calls from people claiming they've been contacted by them. "In this instance, it appears the number was spoofed — a common industry issue where fraudsters fake caller IDs without needing access to the number itself." I've been told that if I report it to Action Fraud, the £25 fee will be waived - which I'm planning on doing soon. Spoofing on the rise The main reason why scammers will spoof numbers is in order to target more victims without being caught up in something called the Do Not Originate (DNO) list. Ofcom and UK Finance launched the DNO list in 2019. Companies and organisations add to the list when a rogue number is reported, and this list is shared with telecoms providers to help them identify and block calls from these numbers. It's an effective tool in filtering through scam callers - but tech and cyber security expert David McClelland said scammers are exploiting a loophole. "Perhaps because of this DNO list - although it's difficult to say for sure - scammers are now also making calls that spoof individuals' mobile numbers," he said. Spoofing is becoming a big problem. The telcoms regulator, Ofcom, is so concerned about the growing threat of spoofing that it launched a consultation in July last year on how to address the issue. It said it was "concerned" that scam calls are coming from scammers who are spoofing UK mobile numbers. It said a call from a spoofed number could appear more trustworthy, and "victims are more likely to share personal information or to make a payment, which can lead to significant financial and emotional harm". It can therefore make it much easier for fraudsters to hunt down victims and steal their money. Some 5.7million Brits have been targeted by a mobile phone scammer more than 10 times, according to research from comparison site Uswitch. And an eye-watering £1.17billion was swiped by scammers in 2024 - roughly level to what was stolen in 2023. What can you do about spoofing? Worryingly, phone companies can't do a lot about spoofing, says Jake Moore from the cybersecurity firm ESET. "There's no solid bulletproof way to stop this sort of spoofing," he says. "However, it's a good idea to report it to Action Fraud and at extreme lengths, you can change your number. "This may be challenging for some people - but it will eradicate the problem if your phone number appears on a list that hackers delve into." My spoofing experience has been sobering, and has reminded me of the importance of remaining vigilant against scammers. Set your privacy settings to the highest level on your social media and messaging accounts. This is so people can't contact you or collect personal information about you - it's surprising how much we share on our accounts. Be wary of who you share your number with. "Try to reduce the amount of companies you give your phone number to," Jake said. "Most website forms will ask for it but not all of them will require it for the service or product to work. "By limiting where your number is divulged, it reduces the chance it will be breached." If you get a cold call, never rely on just using the caller ID as a way to verify who they say they are. It's worryingly easy for scammers to spoof a number. If someone says they are from your bank, then hang up and call the number on the back of your card, or through the mobile bank app. If someone says they are from an official organisation, like HMRC, hang up and look up the number to call back on the website. Being spoofed has made me realise the lengths that scammers will go to in order to trick you into handing over money. From now on, I'll be keeping a close eye on where I'm sharing my phone number. How to stop nuisance calls and texts FED up with scam texts and calls clogging up your phone? Take these steps to fight back. On iPhone, you can enable Silence Unknown Callers by going to Settings > Phone, scrolling down to Silence Unknown Callers, tapping the option, and turning on the feature. This will block phone numbers that are not in your contacts or that you have not contacted previously. On Android, open the Phone app, tap the three dots for more options, tap Settings then turn on Caller ID and spam protection. This uses a database of phone numbers to determine a caller's ID and filter out spam calls. Contact the Telephone Preference Service to add your landline or mobile number to the UK's official Do Not Call register and opt out of unsolicited communications. You can register your phone number on the TPS website or by phoning 0345 070 0707. Certain phone providers offer their own blocking services, some free and some paid for. Contact your provider to find out more.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
I pinched £30m worth of goods as UK's most prolific shoplifter to get my daily hit of heroin – I've been jailed 28 times
A WOMAN who became one of Britain's most prolific shoplifters has revealed how she stole £30 million worth of goods in her 20-year crime spree. Keeley Knowles, 42, stole high value designer clothes and handbags around Birmingham to fund her drug addiction. 3 3 Now, she's lifted the lid on her criminal activities spurred on by her heroin habit. But now that Keeley is 18 months clean, she has turned her life around and is sharing her story to warn others. She said she would target shops every morning and raked in up to £8,000 a day selling on the stolen items via a WhatsApp group in order to feed her heroin addiction. Keeley, of Kings Heath, Birmingham, said: "I was known as Birmingham's most prolific shoplifter for around 20 years. "I was fully involved in the lifestyle. I could easily do seven grams of heroin in a day. When my habit finished I was spending around £1,000 a day. "Instead of going to supermarkets I would go into upmarket stores and take handbags and purses." She pinched £3.7 million worth of stock from one shop alone and is thought to have raked in around £30 million over the years as 'Birmingham's most prolific shoplifter'. Keeley has now revealed how she would fool shop staff by phoning them, pretending to be a police officer to check when security would be on the doors. "People think only gangs are organised crime and that's not right," she said. "I'd get up in the morning and ring around different stores and I would say: 'Good morning, this is PC2417, I'm calling about the theft on Tuesday.' 3 I spent 40k on ketamine and microdosed eight times a day "Because there was always a theft, it's a big store. "And then you would always get some really lovely woman who would answer the phone saying 'there's no security today'. "And I would say, 'Oh well, can you tell me when they are back in?' They would tell me they are not in Monday, Thursday and Friday. And I'd be writing all this down. I knew when people's pay days were, what size their kids were, what people's favourite designer was. Keeley Knowles And she would also fill a sleeping bag-style jacket from the 'ground to her armpit' after slicing up the material to make compartments to conceal the goods. "I wouldn't use a bag for shoplifting. I've had alarms go off and I'd let them look in my handbag and then just walk outside," she explained. "I had a WhatsApp group that had around 150 people in it, I'd take photos on the train or bus after coming out of a shop and before I even got half way home it would be sold. " Money would either go in my bank or I would go and drop it off and collect the money. "I knew when people's pay days were, what size their kids were, what people's favourite designer was." Keeley said she spent every single day shoplifting, apart from on Christmas Day and Good Friday when the shops were closed. "To make a thousand pounds you've got to steal a lot of stuff a day. Some days I'd steal £7,000 to £8,000 worth of stock," Keeley revealed. But thanks to a pioneering new treatment for addicts, Keeley is now 18 months clean having turned her life around and is now sharing her story as a warning to others. Life of Crime Keeley's life of crime began when she was just 13-years-old when she met a 21-year-old man and she was soon hooked on heroin. Speaking to the Birmz Is Grime blog, she added, "I got in trouble a lot when I was younger, firearms and drugs. "I was chosen to travel to Liverpool to pick up kilos of heroin and crack - the equivalent of todays county lines but nobody knew of that back then. I was 13. "My nan and grandad brought me up, my dad was in jail and I didn't see my mum. Because of the generation gap I don't think they knew what was going on,. "I got away with murder, I think my nan thought I had flu for years, when I was suffering withdrawals. But they were there through everything. "I got arrested and went to prison around once a year. "There's a store in Selly Oak, and their security guard once told an officer I had taken £3.7 million worth of stock. "And Loss Prevention magazine have estimated it at around £30 million. "But if you're estimating that from me going into a shop once a day, I promise you its more than that. I didn't live, I just existed. I just got up, scored, went grafting, sold it, scored, slept - and I did it all over again. Keeley Knowles "I'd steal so much I'd have to go get a trolley from Sainsbury's just to move it. "There's no rush to it, it was just what I had to do to feed my addiction. "So many security know me, it's shocking. To the point one stopped me the other week, I haven't been in trouble for so long either, to say happy birthday. "I said 'how do you know its my birthday?' and he said 'Keeley I've had to fill out your date of birth constantly for how many years'. "I didn't live, I just existed. I just got up, scored, went grafting, sold it, scored, slept - and I did it all over again. "I've been to jail 28 times here and three times in Amsterdam. There's only three jails in the country I haven't been to and its the same faces each time. "Women's jail is like St Trinian's on crack - that is the best way you can describe it. 90 per cent are there for addiction. "I thought I would die a junkie." New Beginnings She said her saving grace was West Midlands Police's Offending to Recovery programme, which offers support for addicts. Keeley now works alongside the programme, doing outreach work with drug users and gives talks on the drug Buvidal, a slow-release opioid blocker. She has also won a National Business Crime Solutions Award and since reconnected with her family. She added: "It was the security guard at the £3.7 million shop who said 'you're better than this' and referred me and got me listed for help with the offending to recovery team. "I'd love to say I had a big epiphany but I just found the number in a drawer one day and I thought I'd try them. "They were telling me about this new treatment and I thought it was bulls**t, but I agreed to do it. "I was having seizures, hallucinations, it was horrific, but then I had this injection and I slept like a normal human, had no cravings. "I've now tried to make my recovery something for other people as well. "Seeing somebody who has been even lower than you come out the other end is very different to being told it by somebody who sits in an office and gets paid to do it. "I was unfixable, don't write anyone off. If I can be fixed, anyone can be fixed."
