Officers continue with enquiries after telephone banking scams were reported in Ayrshire

Police Scotland is carrying out enquiries after six reports of telephone banking scams in Ayrshire.

​We recently reported three incidents happened on Wednesday, 5 January, 2022 and further three have been reported to police since then.

These crimes were reported in Prestwick, Ayr and Mossblown areas.

The victims concerned were all elderly and contacted by telephone by someone claiming to be from their bank or the police and advised them that fraudulent activity had been detected on their accounts.

They were then advised to attend at their bank and withdraw four figure sums of cash from their accounts on the instruction that a police officer would later attend and collect the money.

Chief Inspector Kevin Lammie : “Extensive enquiries are currently ongoing at present to identify those responsible and is being treated as a matter of urgency. I would like to highlight this scam to everyone and remind them to be vigilant when receiving those types of calls.

​“The bank or the police will never ask that you transfer money to another account or to take money out of your account.  If you are suspicious in any way then please hang up and contact the police or speak with the bank or a family member who can assist you in ensuring that you are not a victim of fraud.

​“Officers are currently working with local banks to protect customers but they would like to ask that family members who have elderly or vulnerable relatives check in on them and ensure that they are aware not to provide any personal details via telephone or otherwise.

​“The individuals responsible for such despicable crimes are very convincing and will do everything they can to gain the information they need to steal your money, we need to ensure that this no longer continues.

​“If anyone has information or is concerned in anyway please make contact with Police Scotland on 101.”