Customers Warned Over Bank Scam

Victims of a telephone bank scam have been conned out of £650,000 in the last six weeks.

Police in Edinburgh are teaming up with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to warn people about fraudsters who call up members of the public claiming to be from their bank.

In the scam known as "vishing'', victims are told that there has been suspicious activity on their account and are advised to transfer their money to a different account.

It follows a spate of cases in the capital, with 16 people targeted and more than £650,000 cash stolen in the last month and a half.

As part of the awareness campaign, all public branches of the main banks will display posters reminding the public never to give out their details if they are cold-called.

Police will distribute crime prevention leaflets across the city giving information on how to avoid becoming a victim.

Detective Inspector Arron Clinkscales said: "Those responsible for committing these offences are despicable individuals who mostly prey on the elderly and vulnerable members of our communities.

"It is essential that police and the banking industry work together to address this matter and ensure that the public are fully informed on the type of tactics criminals will utilise to obtain their personal details or money.

"I would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that neither the police, nor banks, will cold-call an account holder and ask for personal details, or for money to be transferred elsewhere.

"If you receive a call like this, do not comply. Hang up and ensure the line has been cleared before contacting police.''

Chris Wilson, RBS Scotland managing director, said: "Fraudsters work by creating fear that a customer's savings may be under threat. No bank will ever ask a customer to transfer their savings or part of their savings to another account or another bank in order to ''protect the funds".

"We're delighted to join Police Scotland in this campaign to raise customer awareness around how these scams work.''