Edinburgh near bottom of UK scam phone-number ranking
Edinburgh has recorded one of the lowest rates of scam-flagged local phone numbers in a new UK comparison, contrasting sharply with Glasgow's position near the top.
An analysis by Interconnections Media compared 58 UK locations using suspicious telephone numbers associated with geographical dialling codes, adjusted against population.
Edinburgh ranks 57th out of 58 locations, recording just 0.36 reported scam phone numbers per 100,000 residents.
Only Gloucester records a lower figure, finishing last at 0.17.
Glasgow City, meanwhile, ranks fourth nationally with a reported rate of 64.23, making it the highest-ranked Scottish location.
Elsewhere in Scotland, Stirling ranks 14th at 11.07, while Aberdeen City places 32nd with 3.54.
Edinburgh's low reported rate does not necessarily indicate that its residents receive fewer fraudulent calls, as the study tracks suspicious phone numbers associated with geographical codes.
The top 10 areas were: Salford: 233.68; Liverpool: 92.90; London: 89.24; Glasgow City: 64.23; Leeds: 61.49; Chester: 28.17; Wolverhampton: 18.69; Chichester: 15.67; Portsmouth: 15.02; Carlisle: 14.22.
Abhinav Singh, founder of Interconnections Media, said: “Fraudulent callers can make their numbers appear to originate from almost anywhere, so geographical reporting figures cannot tell us which residents are most exposed to scams.
“People should be suspicious of unexpected calls claiming that an account has been compromised or that an urgent payment is required. The safest approach is to contact the organisation independently using verified details.”
The analysis used Who's Ringing? scam-flagged phone-number data collected in 2026.