Business owners warned of phone scam

DUNDEE business owners are being warned of a new telephone scam doing the rounds.

The scam apparently involves a call from a person — usually male — claiming to be a police officer and asking for a company director by name.

They ask whether there have been any recent issues with antisocial behaviour in the area to build a rapport.

The caller then asks for a contribution to a local police community publication, which the business has supposedly supported in the past.

A second caller, purporting to be a colleague, then follows up 10 minutes later demanding payment and declining to provide contact details.

The scammers apparently find company director details from freely available Companies House registers and call up under the guise of a police officer to lull local businesses into a false sense of security.

Kris Hicks, of CPR Call Blocker, which makes a product designed to block scammers, said Dundee firms should be wary of unsolicited calls asking for donations.

He said: “The issue with this type of scam is that people in businesses could easily be tricked into thinking that they have supported a cause like this in the past.

“As many local businesses often give back to their communities through charitable donations, scams like these can be easy to fall for.

“An additional problem with calls like these is that people are naturally more inclined to trust a call that they receive from someone in a position of authority, such as a police officer.

“We would advise businesses in Dundee to be vigilant against these types of calls and suggest they never make a donation over the phone to an unsolicited caller without verifying the caller.”