A Perthshire man was conned out of £12,000 in an elaborate bank scam that took place just months after his wife died.
The man, in his late fifties, revealed a criminal posed as a fraud officer with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
The fraudster carried out the crime in a single telephone call, telling the man he would have to transfer funds due to some “dubious” activity on his bank account.
The resident, from east Perthshire, was given a sort-code in order to put the money into a “safe account,” while the criminal, who spoke with a west of Scotland accent, told him not to contact bank staff as some of them could have been involved in the matter.
“The man said there had been suspicious activity on certain aspects of my bank account involving transactions with Argos and John Lewis, claiming this may have been done internally within the bank,” the victim said.
“He advised me to transfer money from my savings into a safe account and even gave me a reference number.
“I haven’t a clue how he got my phone number but I stupidly gave him my mobile phone number which he used to confirm the transfer of money had taken place.”
He continued: “He was up to all the tricks but I never once suspected anything.
“It is devastating and I’m only talking about this to let other people know about the dangers of dealing with these people. The whole thing was made worse as I lost my wife at Christmas and had to deal with matters such as death insurance.”
The resident said RBS’s actual fraud department contacted him the following day to alert him to the scam and he issued a warning to other residents about such crimes.
He added: “The bank has said it’s unlikely I will get any money back as I transferred the money myself.”
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said anyone who receives such a call should attend their nearest bank branch and ask for a senior member of staff and explain the situation.
He said: “If a bank employee was trying to steal your money then the bank would never ask you to move money into a different account.
“They would simply put sufficient protection in place on your account to protect your money. The bank would also refund money if their staff had stolen it.
“Do not be fooled by the caller claiming that branch staff are involved – the fraud department would never divulge this information to you.”
