Warning following banking scams in East Kilbride and Carluke areas

Officers in Lanarkshire are continuing their investigation and warning the public to be on their guard following several recent high-value bank frauds.

In the last 3 months, three people aged 73, 81 and 86, from the East Kilbride and Carluke areas, have been the victim of high-value frauds where five-figure sums of money have been stolen for their bank accounts.

In each of these cases the victims have advised they received telephone calls from someone with a local accent, purporting to be from their local bank branch and who call from a private number.

The fraudster then tells the person they have called that they have had money taken from their accounts and that they believe bank staff are responsible and ask for assistance. The fraudster will provide information regarding recent banking activity to make them seem genuine. In order for the victim to get money back they provide them with details of another bank account to transfer money into and ask them to go into the branch to make the transaction. They are also told to tell staff the money being transferred is for a family member.

DC Murray, from Lanarkshire CID, said: “I would ask everyone to be on their guard from any type of online or telephone scam.

“Each of these incidents is clearly extremely distressing for the people involved who all believed that the calls were made from their own banks. They trusted that the information they were given was correct. The people behind these scams are contemptible, abusing people’s trust and then stealing money from them.

“The criminals who use these sophisticated tactics, go to great lengths to appear legitimate including providing information on recent banking activity. It is important to remember that a genuine caller from your bank would never ask for your banking or personal details as they already have it. Your bank will not ask you to transfer money during an unsolicited call nor will they ask you to allow them access to your online or telephone banking, so if asked, politely end the call. It is best to call your bank back on a number you have sourced yourself, ideally using a different phone, or attend at your local branch for advice. If you are unsure, end the call and ask a friend, relative or the Police for advice.

“Any victims of these crimes or anyone with concerns regarding calls they have received should contact their local police station through 101. If you are in any doubt that the call is not genuine then please end the call, your bank will understand.”

Anyone with information should contact Police via 101. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.

For further advice on keeping safe, please visit our website.