The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scammer avoids jail after string of bogus claims
Dundee man was caught out after posting his holiday photos on social media
A bank worker who reclaimed the cost of a lavish break to Dubai after claiming his travel documents never turned up – only to be rumbled when bosses saw pictures of him enjoying the break on Facebook – has been spared jail.
Adam Fraser also made a string of other bogus claims from Bank of Scotland, where he was working at the time, for “disputed transactions”.
Management became suspicious after Fraser claimed someone had been using his account to withdraw money and buy items in transactions he was not making.
In one claim he told the bank his holiday to Dubai had been cancelled because his travel documents hadn’t arrived in time.
But investigators needed only to turn to Fraser’s publicly accessible Facebook page to find out he was lying. They saw images, now deleted from the social media site, of him enjoying his trip.
Depute fiscal Laura Bruce told Dundee Sheriff Court that Fraser had exploited a loophole he had discovered while working in the Bank of Scotland call centre in Dundee’s West Marketgait.
He obtained a total of £5,746.42 by telling the bank his card had been used without his knowledge and consent for purchasing goods and services and that he had been the victim of fraud.
Miss Bruce said: “Staff at the bank became suspicious and investigations were made.”
She said police were then informed and Fraser was interviewed by officers. He made a full admission of his guilt to them, she said.
Fraser, 23, of Liff, by Dundee, pled guilty on summary complaint to a charge admitting that between March 7 and August 31 2016, at his home at The Steading, North Mains of Liff, and at 2 West Marketgait, Dundee, and elsewhere to the prosecutor unknown, he formed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money.
He admitted he repeatedly pretended to Lloyds Banking Group that the card associated with his account with the Bank of Scotland had been used without his knowledge and consent for the purposes of purchasing goods and services and transferring money and that he had been a repeated victim of fraud.
However, the truth was he had made the transactions reported as fraudulent and induced Lloyds Banking Group to reimburse the amounts claimed and obtained £5,746.42 of money by fraud.
Defence solicitor Mike Short said: “I’ve told him right from the outset he would have to repay every single penny.”
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael imposed a community payback order with 18 months supervision, 180 hours of unpaid work and a compensation order for £5,746.42.