Bogus callers warning

Renfrewshire police have reminded vulnerable residents to be on their guard against bogus callers.

Locals are being swindled by crooks posing as HMRC staff, who use often aggressive means to extort fictitious tax debts from their victims.

At a meeting of the Paisley East and Whitehaugh community council, police constable Stephen Reid urged the public to have their wits about them following a spate of telephone scams in Paisley.

Although a widespread p ro b l e m, PC R e i d , community officer for Whitehaugh and Gallowhill, added that the issue is currently focused on the Ralston area, where a leaflet drop has been carried out to alert residents.

More and more crooks have been targeting OAPs in Paisley and surrounding towns and villages in recent months, in scams ranging from home repairs to tax cons.

Doorstep crimina l s often identify elderly or vulnerable people in the local community and try to steal from them.

In July, the Paisley Daily Express reported that a gang of bogus callers conned a 78-year-old pensioner, who has Alzheimer’s disease, out of £750 at his home in Crags Road, in the Thrushcraigs area of Paisley.

The trio of crooks talked the man into handing over the cash to trim a tree in his garden and returned the next day for money to clean up the mess they had left.

Fortunately, an eagle-eyed neighbour, who had been told about the previous day’s scam, alerted cops and the callous crooks fled the scene in their white van without a second cash grab.

If you believe doorstep criminals are operating in your area, call police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Further advice in relation to consumer issues and rogue traders is available from Renfrewshire’s Trading Standards office on 0300 300 0380.