Warning following police impersonation scam in Renfrewshire

Members of the public in Renfrewshire are being urged to be vigilant following reports of a banking scam involving people impersonating police officers in the area.

Between October 2021 and January 2022, over 30 reports have been received from members of the public across the country who have either been visited or contacted by individuals claiming to be from Police Scotland.

In the latest incident, that happened on Friday, 4 February, in the Bridge of Weir area, a man telephoned claiming to be from the fraud office of a bank and on the same day two men attended at the same address claiming to be Police Scotland detectives investigating bank fraud.

Superintendent Campbell Wallace said: “Whoever these men were, they were not genuine Police Scotland officers. They were at the property for some time and even showed ID badges which we believe to be fake.

“Unfortunately in this case the scammers took £25,000 and we are asking people to be vigilant in relation to this kind of fraud. If you receive this kind of contact, ask for the officer’s details and which department they work for. If concerned you can always call 101 and request verification.

“We began a national roll-out of new identification cards, which feature an up-to-date picture of the officer, along with other key information and various security enhancements that make them extremely difficult to replicate. This roll-out was started in October 2021 and all police officers should be able to provide this identification when carrying out legitimate police business.”

Anyone with information about this kind of scam should contact Police Scotland on 101 or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.