Warning of iTunes scam

One man lost £3K before bank stopped payments

A group who aim to protect shoppers from crime have been busy warning people to be wary of an iTunes telephone scam.

Retailers Against Crime Stirling [RAC] set themselves up in the Thistles Centre to talk to people about the trap – which numerous people in the Stirling area have fallen foul of in recent months.

Fraudsters are known to contact members of the public claiming to be from HMRC and tricking them into paying bogus debts and taxes using iTunes gift cards.

They are often asked to provide serial numbers and voucher codes over the phone.

The Observer reported in February that a 67-yearold Doune man was almost £5000 out of pocket after falling victim to a similar cruel scam.

He was instructed to pay a sum of £1700 and the fraudsters indicated that this could be paid by sending codes for 17 separate £100 iTunes gift cards – which he agreed to.

He then managed to send a sum of around £3000 but was prevented from handing over a further £12,000 by his bank.

And, on the same day, a 65-year-old Bannockburn man was left without just under £1000 of his savings after falling victim to the scam on the same day.

Fraudsters told him he could face charges of up to £17,000 if he didn’t pay a supposed £1000 tax bill – and again said this could be done by sending codes for iTunes vouchers.

RAC say that victims can be contacted by voicemail, text messages or spoof calls – and a number of people stopped to share experiences of this during the Thistles Centre visit.

Stirling inspector Donna Bryans said: “People should be aware that nobody would phone your house expecting you to pay a tax bill with iTunes vouchers.

“Anyone who has any concerns over a genuine claim should contact HMRC before paying anything.”

RAC also aim to make people aware of criminal activity using a coin-drop distraction technique, shoulder surfing at cashpoints and theft of valuables from shoppers.