Officers in Ayrshire are investigating incidents of telephone scams.
On Wednesday, 5 January, 2022, police recorded three incidents of fraud in Prestwick and Ayr. Three people were contacted by phone by someone claiming to be from the bank or the police and advised there was fraudulent activity on their accounts.
The three people, aged 80, 82 and 74, were 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.
They were also given a telephone number to call back on.
All three, two men and one woman, went to their bank to withdraw the cash, however, one man, reported the activity to bank staff and the police were contacted.
Unfortunately, a man and a woman were duped into believing this was legitimate and have lost a significant amount of money.
Police officers will never ask you to withdraw money from your account and then ask you to hand it to anyone. Officers will always carry photographic warrant cards and will present them when dealing with the public.
Chief Inspector Kevin Lammie, said: “I want to highlight this scam to everyone and remind them there are fraudsters out there who want to steal your money.
“I would like to remind everyone that your bank or the police will never ask you to transfer money to another account or to take money out of your account. The only person who can do that is you. It is your money, hold on to it.
“If you are suspicious in any way then please hang up and contact the police or speak to a member of your family or bank staff who can assist you in making sure you are not a victim of fraud.
“Officers are working with local banks to protect customers but I would ask family members who have elderly or vulnerable relatives to get in touch with them and make sure they are ok. Please remind them that there are criminals out there who are convincing and think nothing of stealing their money and savings.”
If anyone has any information or is concerned they may have been a victim of a scam, please contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1137.
