Report warns of increased risk from scammers

Crooks use technology to hoodwink vulnerable

Jack Thomson Local Democracy Reporter

Fraudsters and scammers who target the elderly and vulnerable across Renfrewshire are becoming “increasingly sophisticated” and more difficult to spot, experts have warned.

The nature, scale and threat posed by scams is changing, as bogus callers and con artists steal tens of thousands from familes using modern technology.

The caution has been made in a report to Renfrewshire Council’s Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board.

Some of the more common types of swindling carried out in Renfrewshire include social engineering fraud, where malware and phishing emails are being used to obtain customers’ details.

Offenders have been known to pose as a bank or security company employee, cold-calling complainers to claim their savings are at risk.

They hoodwink victims by claiming funds in their account should be transferred to a “safe account”, which is, in reality, an account in the control of the perpetrator.

Scammers will also pose as Microsoft employees, calling complainers in relation to a computer virus and telling them to pay a fee for it to be removed.

Another popular method in the area has been people posing as an HMRC employee and requesting payment in the form of iTunes vouchers.

The iTunes voucher scam’s popularity has soared because they can be redeemed easily and almost immediately. The crook just has to get the victim to read out the serial number over the phone.

Residents have been urged to be careful in dealing with those who claim to call from banks and other financial institutions.

This is because they can mask their real telephone numbers and “spoof” genuine numbers that are both recognised and trusted by complainers.

The scale of attempted phone frauds is highlighted by the fact that a number linked to HMRC frauds was checked almost 34,000 times on who-called.co.uk – a website where the numbers of cold callers can be reported.

There have even been instances of “romance frauds”, which are usually the result of internet dating.

Perpetrators use dating websites or social media platforms to meet potential victims, develop a relationship and then attempt to exploit their trust by requesting the transfer of cash.

A report by the director of Communities, Housing and Planning Services said: “These frauds are arguably one of the most distressing frauds as victims suffer both financially and emotionally.

“Complainers may be repeatedly victimised by the perpetrator before realising that they have been scammed.”