Heartless crooks conned a local pensioner into handing over her life savings.
The Daily Record reported on the scam and said cops have launched a probe after the sick fraudsters left the woman with nothing.
The brutes left with a five-figure sum of money, stolen from the woman in Dalkeith, Midlothian at around 11am on Monday, December 6.
The thugs phoned the 78 year-old at home and claimed to be working within the fraud team of her bank.
They then stated they were conducting an internal investigation into a member of staff for fraud.
She transferred the pensioner through various other people who convinced her that she needed to transfer a five-figure sum of cash from her bank account to an account number that they gave to assist their enquiry.
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She was ‘reassured’ by the fraudsters that police were involved and they then asked her to visit her branch the next day to complete the transfer.
They added that she was not to disclose any of the information she has been given.
At around 3pm on Tuesday, she received a call from the same people. They told her her bank cards had been compromised and they would send a courier to pick them up before a man came and collected them.
Over the next few days a further four-figure sum was stolen from her account.
Officers are appealing for information following the horrific incident.
Detective Sergeant Declan Hogg said: “The people who carry out these crimes are despicable. They target the most vulnerable members of our community and steal their life savings. We need the any help the public can give to track these people down.
“We are also urging people to be aware of calls and contact of this nature and in particular to ensure that their elderly or vulnerable family members, friends and neighbours are also aware of these types of scams.
“These callous criminals are well-rehearsed, sound knowledgeable, and can be very convincing, particularly to someone who may not be used to handling online accounts that they don’t use regularly.
“They may also have the name of the person they are calling or some details regarding the accounts held by the person they are phoning which makes it sound more genuine. If in any doubt, contact the organisation using a method you trust and not through the details provided by the caller. Contact police if you have any concerns.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact officers through 101 quoting reference 2086 of December 9.
Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously through 0800 555 111.
