Sick fraudsters pretending to work for Virgin Media and Hermes are targeting pensioners in the latest warning from Police Scotland.
Two callous incidents have been highlighted by Renfrewshire Police Division as part of a wider message to be vigilant.
On April 12 an elderly couple were contacted by suspects under the guise of Virgin Media staff.
The victims were persuaded to give over bank details, including passwords and pin numbers, to the thieves.
Bank staff thankfully stopped a large sum of cash being swiped.
In a separate incident another Renfrewshire local received a text message from what they believed to be courier service, Hermes.
The target clicked on a link within the text and was asked to provide personal and bank details before their parcel could be delivered.
Police say the number of scammer incidents have soared.
Inspector Tracy Harkins said: "Unfortunately we have seen a steady rise in the number of telephone and online frauds occurring within Renfrewshire.
"The thieves use very complex scams to persuade victims that they are genuine employees of well-known companies and anyone can fall victim to this type of crime.
"Over the past few weeks victims have ranged in age from 22 to 87-years-old.
"This goes to show that it's not just the elderly and vulnerable within the community that can become a victim of such crime. "
Inspector Harkins added: "The Scam methods change almost daily but in a nutshell, if any company asks for your pin number or online banking password then they are fraudsters.
"No legitimate bank or company will ask you to divulge those details.
"I would ask anyone receiving such a call or email to hang up or press the delete button. I'd also like to ask local residents to pass on this information to any elderly neighbours or family members."
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