Parents urged to not to clog police phone lines after 300 calls made following Scottish schools hoax

Parents are being advised not to clog police phone lines after more than 300 calls were made after hoax bomb threats were sent to schools in Scotland.

Schools across Scotland were targeted with ‘threatening messages’ on Monday. Similar messages were sent to schools in Europe.

Police Scotland issued an updated statement on Tuesday, and said it was treating the incident as a hoax, and there is nothing to suggest any threat to the public.

The threat came as many schools in Scotland were on holiday, while some had an in-service day, and others had just returned following the October break.

Police Scotland said it had received more than 300 calls in relation to the incidents.

‘Police will know about it’

The threats were sent to a number of schools across Scotland, with schools in Northern Ireland, Hungary and Serbia also receiving similar threats.

Jude McCorry, CEO of the Cyber and Fraud Centre says if threats are so widespread, authorities will be aware of the incidents.

“When things like this do happen, sit down assess the information as well, and to make sure that if it is a Scotland wide attack, Police Scotland will know about it.

“There is no point in you as an individual calling that line and clogging up the phone lines or calling the schools or the councils and stuff as well.”

What can parents do?

Jude McCorry acknowledged that these incidents can be worrying for parents, but is urging people to check and verify information first.

“Look at the facts, don’t go by TikTok, don’t go by Facebook.

“Nobody’s saying not to take it seriously, there have been hoax emails, phone calls going around for a long time in our society, it’s not new.

“But its not to say it’s not worrying and its not concerning particularly when it involves children.

“But we have to have that personal resilience to know what’s right and what’s wrong.

“Look at the information, try and figure out what’s real information, and what you can do to support it yourself”.

What has Police Scotland said?

In an updated statement on Tuesday, Police Scotland confirmed there is nothing to suggest there is any threat to the public, and that its Cyber and Fraud Unit are carrying out extensive enquiries to establish the source.