Beware of Scammers

At the last meeting of the Community Council, Sergent Lewis Dalby of Police Scotland reported on a disturbing "scam" that is currently being used by fraudsters through which criminals have netted about £1.2 million from residents in the North-east of Scotland.

These cases involved the scammers pretending to be from the victim’s bank. They said they were investigating fraudulent activity by staff within the organisation and asked the account holder to move money into foreign accounts for safe-keeping.

They asked the victims not to report the call for fear of ruining an internal investigation. The fraudsters also induced the victims to attend their own bank or building society personally to transfer the money abroad, providing the cover story that it is for some form of international investment.

Sergeant Lewis Dalby said: “Banks will never make phone calls like this asking you to move money, in particular into a foreign account.  Anyone receiving such a call should hang up and call police immediately. Banks will also never ask you to personally attend your local branch and make a transaction to a safe account.”

Anyone with concerns about scams should contact the police on 101.