Residents are urged to be vigilant in the face of increasing instances of scams, including doorstep scams against the vulnerable.
Doorstep crime ranges from bogus callers to rogue traders and sees the vulnerable, particularly the elderly, fall victim.
A number of incidents have been reported across the Forth Valley area.
One victim to have fallen foul of the crime was an elderly man who was forced to withdraw thousands from his savings on several occasions.
Banking staff, on checking his account, become aware of several other large monetary transactions over a short time period.
Staff spoke with the man regarding the purpose of his withdrawal and being concerned with his replies contacted the police and instigated the Banking Protocol – a UK-wide scheme, launched by UK Finance, National Trading Standards and local police forces. Branch staff are trained to spot the warning signs that suggest a customer may be falling victim to a scam, before alerting their local police force to intervene and investigate.
Officers then attended and obtained the full story from the elderly gentleman who advised them that around seven days prior, two men had attended his home and offered to do some gardening work.
They then took him to several banks in the Forth Valley area over consecutive days and instructed him to go into the bank on his own and make cash withdrawals, which he did.
The man, who lives alone, was taken to the bank by the perpetrators in his own vehicle.
Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.
On the third occasion, banking staff in the Stirling branch were concerned and contacted the police. Officers attended and, after hearing the story, escorted the elderly man home and ensured the suspects were not within the property or surrounding area.
A second incident was later identified with a similar version of events.
Further enquiries were carried out by police in Forth Valley which identified the two males in question, who were subsequently arrested and reported to the Procurator Fiscal in relation to the matter and another incident.
The initial victim was refunded in full by his bank which totalled thousands of pounds.
Tips to prevent doorstep crime includes being on guard if someone turns up unexpectedly; keeping front and back doors locked; fitting a door chain or bar; only let callers in if they have an appointment; always ask for identification badges.
Last week we told how police were warning the public to be vigilant after a spate of scams involving people impersonating police officers were reported across the country – including in Stirling and Dunblane.
Between October 2021 and this month more than 30 reports have been received from members of the public, who have either been visited or contacted by individuals claiming to be Police Scotland officers. In each incident, the victims were contacted by telephone by someone who claimed to be from a bank fraud department and advised that their bank account had been compromised. They were then asked to either transfer money remotely to another account online or attend at a bank and remove cash, which would later be collected by a police officer.
Last week, we also told how two men were arrested in connection with a fraud incident on the A84, near Callander.
The pair were arrested on the A84 near the town at 3pm on Monday, January 31. It came after Scots motorists said they were hailed down before being asked for cash for petrol. There were reports of similar incidents in the Borders and South Lanarkshire. It was claimed a man, driving a black BMW, flagged drivers down begging for help, before pleading for fuel money to visit family in hospital.
Following the double arrest, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We can confirm two 26-year-old men have been arrested in connection with a fraud incident on the A84 near Callander around 3pm on Monday, January 24. Enquires are ongoing into the circumstances surrounding the incident and similar reports in other areas.”
In November last year, we told how a Dunblane pensioner was left £240,000 out of pocket. The 71-year-old man was contacted by con artists claiming to have been from the Bank of Scotland over a four-day period the prior month.
Brazen crooks called the man at his home in the town on multiple occasions between Monday, October 25, and Friday, October 29, in which they convinced him to share his account details. Large sums of money in the account were removed. Bank of Scotland’s fraud department stepped in but by this point around £240,000 had already been taken.
