Bogus rugby club email sent to parents asking for photo of child

A bogus email was sent to parents of primary school youngsters asking for personal details and a picture of their upper body.

The email, pretending to be sent from the non-existent Aberdeenshire Rugby organisation, asked for the child’s date of birth, height, weight, medical conditions and a photo. Police Scotland are now investigating the emails.

The email also promises a place on a free 12-week rugby training programme being launched in the area. It appears the sender knew who they were targeting, as it was received by the parents of players at Ellon Rugby Club.

Gareth Kemp, the club’s vice-president, said: “It was very worrying for the parents that the person sending the email knew their son was a rugby player.

“When a second parent, followed by several more, also revealed they were contacted, it became – very slightly, less worrying – but it is of great concern to us about who has sent this email.

“After being made aware of the incidents at the weekend, Gareth, also a youth coach at Ellon and other club officials spent hours trying to find out if Aberdeenshire Rugby was a legitimate organisation.

The content of the email sent by the fictitious Aberdeenshire Rugby organisation explains to parents that the organisation has itself received an email “regarding your son’s performance at rugby and we would like to invite him to some of our new training sessions in Aberdeen.”

It goes on to say: “Information we will require for your child would be his name, date of birth, what area you are from in Aberdeenshire, any medical conditions which may affect rugby (picture of upper body included preferably) and also weights and dimensions.”

Mr Kemp contacted the Scottish Rugby Association straight away to see if it was something they had set up. When it was established that was not the case, the club contacted the police, the SRU child-protection team in Edinburgh and several children’s charities.

After alerting the authorities, the club’s coaching staff held an emergency meeting on Sunday.

Mr Kemp said: “We have made sure that all clubs in the (Aberdeen) city and shire are aware of the issue. Our club is already strict on child-protection matters and has always requested that children should be collected from training by parents and guardians.

“This policy applies to all children under 18 and we have re-emphasised it because of the emails. Community police officers have also said they will increase patrols to provide an increased police presence in the area.”

Councillor Martin Greig, chairman of Aberdeen Community Safety Partnership, labelled the emails “sinister and offensive”.

He said: “Hopefully the police will be able to gather sufficient intelligence so that the person responsible can be identified and questioned.

“The welfare of young people is very thoroughly protected by strict standards followed by authorised sports groups in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. This sinister and offensive approach is extremely disturbing.”

Both Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council confirmed the emails were not from a verified source.

Police Scotland said on Tuesday they had received a complaint about the email and were investigating.

Article source: http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12504/9053432/coach-wilko

Bogus rugby club email sent to parents asking for photo of child