Public Warned of Police Impersonation Scam

More than £300,000 has been defrauded from victims and inquiries to identify those responsible are ongoing.

Between October 2021 and January 2022, over 30 reports have been received from members of the public, who have either been visited or contacted by individuals claiming to be Police Scotland officers. One of the areas involved was Forfar.

On each occasion, the victim was contacted by telephone from someone claiming to be from a bank fraud department and advised that their bank account had been compromised.

They were then requested to either transfer money remotely to another account online or attend at a bank and remove cash, which would later be collected by a police officer.

While not every attempt to extort money was successful, those responsible defrauded a number of victims across Forth Valley, Fife, Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside, Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders.

More than £300,000 has been defrauded from victims and inquiries to identify those responsible are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to come forward.

In the meantime, police are offering advice to stop people falling victim to this scam and will be leafleting across Scotland to help educate communities on how police will engage with the public in person, over the phone and online.

Superintendent Hilary Sloan from Partnerships, Prevention and Community Wellbeing Division said: “While there are a number of ways police officers may look to contact you, please be mindful of this scam and always be suspicious of any unexpected contact.

“If you receive such a call, or visit, ask for the officer’s details and which department they work for. If the contact is by telephone, hang up and if possible use a different phone to contact the police service via 101, where you will speak to genuine members of Police Scotland and can request police officer verification.

“We are treating this ongoing scam with the utmost seriousness and have officers around the country pursuing various lines of inquiry.”

Those with information can contact Police Scotland via 101. Alternatively, an anonymous report can be made to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.