Dumfries pensioner Sandra Blacklock is warning people to beware of a smart meter scam.
She was targeted in a telephone call by a man pretending to be from SSE and offering to fit the device in her home.
But when he asked for bank details Ms Blacklock, of Auchencrieff Road, was immediately suspicious.
The scam artist then hung up the phone but he had already fixed a date to deliver and fit the meter so 76-year-old Ms Blacklock called her daughter Fiona.
She said: “My mum was a bit worried about this but fortunately he never turned up and was obviously not from the SSE.
“I went down to sit with her at the house on Thursday morning when the guy said he would deliver the meter at about 11am.
“My mum was sharp enough to know not to give out bank details and was already suspicious when the man asked for her name when she thought he should already know her details if he was from SSE.
“We would just like to warn other people in Dumfries about this scam in case it happens to them.
“The guy who phoned asked for details and then when he asked for her date of birth he said, ‘Oh, you’re a pensioner, we will need your bank details’.
“So that was when my mum twigged and said no, then he hung up.
“It was a good job she was alert to it but some people might be taken in with this so we’d like to warn them to watch out for it.”
“Thankfully my mum was alert enough to recognise it and not give out her details. But others may not be so lucky.”
