Police are urging the public to be vigilant after two elderly women from the north of the city were conned out of thousands of pounds in a vishing scam.
One woman in her 80s from the Comely Bank area was contacted by phone by a man claiming to be from her bank. He told her he was from the fraud department and working with police, and persuaded her to transfer several large sums of money into other accounts.
Her bank noticed the transaction and contacted the lady themselves, but the money had since been moved out of the new accounts.
The second victim, a woman in her 90s from the Drumbrae area, also lost thousands in a similar scam.
Detective Constable Barry Mercer of the Economic Crime Unit said: “These criminals have a blatant disregard for their victims, deliberately targeting vulnerable people and preying on their good nature.
“They use scare tactics by claiming that they are investigating fraudulent activity by bank staff so their victims don’t report it for fear of ruining the investigation, and even go as far as to give them a cover story for why they are moving such large sums of money.
“We work closely with banks to help them spot this kind of fraud but we need everyone to be vigilant and look out for family, friends and neighbours, particularly if they are elderly or vulnerable. Banks will never make phone calls like this and ask you to move money – if you do receive such a call, hang up and call police.”
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