Scotland wide-warning over high value bank scam

Police Scotland has contacted the media about a scam which saw at least three individuals in the one area robbed of a five figure sum over a three day period this week.

The high sums were taken straight out of bank accounts -after plausible sounding fraudsters targeted victims by phone in Edinburgh alone.

All the account holders had been contacted by a professional sounding caller with a local accent who claimed to be from the fraud team of their local bank branch . They also appeared to be calling from a genuine number which seemed to be linked to that branch.

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The caller then asked each person to transfer funds into a separate account which appears to be operated by the fraudsters.

PC Greig Stephen, of the Prevention, Intervention and Partnerships team in Edinburgh, said: “Those targeted by these incidents have been left shaken by what has happened and I would urge everyone to be wary of any online or telephone scams that are related to finances.

“If you are speaking to someone on the phone, please do not give them any personal information or bank details, even if they seem to know some of your details already.

“Many fraudsters use advanced techniques to make them appear genuine and it is important to remember that your bank would never ask you to transfer money to another account

Anyone who receives a call like this to hang up and contact their bank directly to discuss any irregularities surrounding their account.”