A man phoned a householder in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, and claimed to be from the fraud office of a bank. Later in the day, two men attended the property claiming to be detectives investigating bank fraud. The theft took place on Friday, and the police are investigating the incident. The scammers spent some time at the property and flashed ID cards that were believed to be fake.
More than 30 people in the Renfrewshire area have reported being visited or contacted by someone pretending to be from Police Scotland, according to the police.
New identification cards have been issued. These men were not genuine Police Scotland personnel, whoever they were. They stayed around the site for a long time and even displayed ID credentials that are suspected to be phony. Unfortunately, the scammers got £25,000 in this case, and people should be wary of this type of fraud.
If a member of the public receives such contact, they should inquire about the officer’s credentials and the department for which they work. They should always contact 101 and ask for proof if they are concerned.
Supt Campbell Wallace said they had started a countrywide deployment of new identification cards, which include an up-to-date image of the officer, as well as other essential information and several security features that make them exceedingly difficult to replicate. This initiative began in October 2021, and all police personnel will have to provide this identification when conducting genuine police work.