Police and charity bosses have issued a fraud warning after pensioners lost thousands of pounds to cruel scammers.
The most recent incident saw a 77-year-old man lose £4,800 after falling victim to a phishing scam.
Cops said the Elderslie OAP received an email on Thursday morning claiming to be from Amazon and asking him to call a number if he wanted to cancel his subscription.
However, after giving his bank details over the phone, he was alerted by his bank that thousands of pounds had been taken out.
He quickly alerted cops who are now investigating.
The callous con comes just days after an 80-year-old Linwood woman lost more than £50,000 after being duped into handing over bank details to a phone fraudster who claimed to work for BT.
Police Scotland figures released last week show a significant rise in fraud cases during the last year in lockdown.
A charity supporting older people in Renfrewshire has called on members of the public to be vigilant.
Cassie Forbes, Roar manager, said: “I would like to put out a plea to family, friends and neighbours of older adults to make sure they are being made aware of the scams and nuisance calls going on at the moment and to request the older adults don’t pass any bank details to anyone, even the bank, over the phone.
“We are currently working with Police Scotland by delivering financial harm leaflets to our older adults highlighting this very issue.
“Please report anything suspicious at all to the police.”
Police in the region are also urging older people to guard against such crimes.
Inspector Allan O’Hare, from Renfrewshire’s community policing team said: “We have seen an increase in the number of telephone and internet frauds over the last few months, sadly many of these have involved older victims.
“We would urge anyone who receives a phone call or email that they are not sure about to act with extreme caution.
“Do not give your bank details over the phone under any circumstances.”
He added: “The best thing to do is to hang up and contact the company or organisation the person is claiming to be from independently.
“Criminals will try to create a sense of panic and urge immediate action, but it is important you try to remain
calm.”
Express readers with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
