A Dumbarton couple have been conned out of a five-figure sum after being caught up in an email pension scam.
Police are advising members of the public to remain vigilant after fraudsters posing as a pension company contacted them by email persuading the pair from Silverton to send the large amount of cash to them.
The incident happened between August 22 and 23.
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The couple believed they were communicating with the genuine company who they intended to do business with but didn’t realise they were dealing with the scammers.
They later learned about the fraud from the genuine company and reported the matter to police.
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Community Policing Inspector Mo Boyle said: “Fraudsters are very convincing and their scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but these sorts of crimes have a devastating impact on individuals.
“We are encouraging members of the public to be vigilant and to double check phone numbers and email addresses before transferring any money and to make sure all anti-virus software on their computers is up to date. Enquiries are continuing as to how these fraudsters managed to pass themselves off as the genuine company on this occasion.”
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Advice issued to residents includes looking out for the green secure padlock sign at the top left of the page, not engaging in emails which use generic terms such as “dear account holder” and being suspicious of correspondence with spelling errors.
For more information, visit www.scotland.police.uk/keep-safe/advice-for-victims-of-crime/fraud/phishing and call 101 if you have evidence you fear could be a scam.
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