Residents urged to be on their guard against latest phone cons

Angus scam taskforce chiefs have reinforced a message to local residents over the latest “sinister” tactics being used by criminals to try to get their hands on cash.

In a Brexit-themed con, scammers are attempting to frighten people into moving their supposedly under-threat savings into so-called safer investments.

Another involves hackers tracking solicitor’s emails to first-time home buyers.

Mark Hodgkinson, chairman of Angus Financial Abuse Support Team (Fast), said: “Both are despicable scams aimed at fleecing people out of their hard-earned savings.

“We are very concerned about people being contacted out of the blue by criminals who pretend to be from the bank and whose patter is to blame Brexit for the possible decimation of people’s savings.

“They suggest quite plausible ways of moving savings to ‘safer’ investments but these are clever, but heartless. The so-called ‘safe’ investments are fake and simply a con to rob people of their money.”

In a separate ruse, hackers monitor emails sent out by solicitors to first-time buyers and then call pretending to be the lawyer, advising that the firm’s bank account details have changed in the hope of having funds redirected to them.

Mr Hodgkinson said: “Our advice remains the same – if a call sounds suspicious or too good to be true, then it almost certainly is. Never give bank details to anyone calling you out of the blue.”

Anyone receiving a cold call, or who knows someone who may be at risk of financial harm, can make a referral to the Fast team via the 03452 777 778 access line.