Scammers target Oban and isles

An 84-year-old Oban man was minutes away from having his bank account drained by scammers when his daughter came to his aid.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, visited her father when he was on the phone to ‘Microsoft’.

However, she soon terminated the call when she noticed the person on the other end of the phone had remote access to her dad’s computer.

It was then she found out that he had been on the phone to a scammer for around two and a half hours.

The daughter said: ‘The police and the fraud squad said they were seconds away from draining his bank account.’

The scammers claimed that the elderly man had been hacked and that they needed remote access to his computer to fix the issue.

They then informed him he was due compensation and needed him to log on to his online bank account.

After the call was terminated, the scammers tried a different tactic.

They called back claiming to be from Clydesdale Bank and said they had heard the man had been the victim of fraud – and again tried to get his bank details.

The daughter said: ‘[My dad] was devastated. He just trusted the guy on the phone. He was in his own home and he was not bothering anyone. They are targeting old people.

‘In the end, nothing was taken, but they got really nasty when they realised he was nearly there. They must have phoned about 20 times after that.

‘I don’t want anyone else to go through this. I want people to check on their elders and make sure they are okay.’

She added: ‘The girls in the Clydesdale Bank were absolutely fantastic.’ Another man emailed The Oban Times and said: ‘I had a call earlier this afternoon from a guy stating he was from the RBS and was confirming that there was activity on my account for large amount of money and that someone from Spain/ Belgium was trying to hack into the account.’

Earlier this month, The Oban Times reported a spate of fake bank calls targeting people on Mull.

More than 10 people across the island lost money, totalling thousands of pounds, after receiving calls from scammers pretending to be from the Clydesdale Bank’s own fraud squad.

Sergeant Chris Edwards, community policing sergeant for Oban, Lorn and the Isles, said: ‘If anyone does receive a phone call asking for these details or telling you about suspicious activity on your account, go into your local branch or phone your bank using a different telephone.

‘Alternatively, wait until you have heard a dialling tone before phoning your bank because some fraudulent callers keep the line open and you could end up calling them back.’

‘I don’t want anyone else to go through this. I want people to check on their elders and make sure they are okay’