LAYiNg Beware of the cunning clones
WITH DIVISIONAL COMMANDER CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT ALAN MURRAY
Unfortunately, this week we have yet again received reports of residents being the victim of online fraud.
In October last year, two elderly Paisley residents in their 80s believed they were investing money in a reputable global investment bank.
The victims assumed they had found a legitimate website when carrying out an online search .
Acting individually, they had phoned the number listed on the website and spoke at length with a ‘financial adviser’, who they believed was employed by the official company.
However, it appears that the victims had contacted a ‘cloned company’ and were, in fact, conversing with a fraudster.
The victims invested a fivefigure sum of money and were expecting their investment to mature in October this year.
The scam only came to light when enquires were made with the genuine company about the impending maturity of their investments.
Although on this occasion the victims were elderly residents, please don’t assume that it is only vulnerable members of the community who can be scammed in this way.
Over the past year, we have received a number of similar reports, including investments in shares and Bitcoins, where the victims were from a variety of age groups and backgrounds.
The thieves are extremely cunning and create cloned web pages almost identical to the legitimate company’s website.
The telephone numbers listed will connect the caller directly to the scammers, who often use the names of genuine company directors to further deceive the victim.
It is imperative that you carry out stringent checks prior to utilising an online company.
If in doubt, speak to a financial advisor or Citizens Advice before parting with your hard-earned cash.
Earlier this week, two of community officers discovered a man in a house in Renfrew who was wanted on an outstanding warrant.
Before they could take hold of him, he armed himself with a kitchen knife and lunged at the officers.
Fortunately, they managed to wrestle him to the ground and disarm him without any injury.
He appears in court today charged with several serious offences .
Although on this occasion nobody was injured, it is an illustration of the dangers faced by officers on a regular basis.
You would probably be surprised how frequently things like this occur - quite often when it is least expected.
It is a reminder that although community officers provide a friendly, reassuring presence, they are very much on the frontline in the fight against serious crime.
Finally, in the last weekend of September across Renfrewshire there were 15 recorded incidents relating to potential breaches of Covid-19 restrictions.
This is a relatively low number and demonstrates that most of us are behaving responsibly and doing what we can to keep ourselves and vulnerable members of the community safe.
However, it also demonstrates that there remains a hard core of reckless, selfish individuals who are letting everyone else down by conducting themselves in such an irresponsible fashion.
We are continuing to attend and investigate such incidents and we will use enforcement methods where we find blatant disregard for the restrictions, or repeat offenders who have already been warned.
Please keep up to date with the restrictions that apply.
Your continued cooperation is greatly appreciated.