A man has been arrested in the Borders after a woman fell victim to a callous Amazon Prime scam.
The victim, from Galashiels, was subject to fake transactions by people claiming to work for the online retailer, in November 2020.
The sick fraudster told the women that an Amazon Prime subscription had been fraudulently deducted from her bank account.
She was then coaxed into downloading malware.
The malware gave the crook access to her bank details.
Police revealed on Friday that a 31-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the incident.
He was cuffed on Wednesday in Hawick.
The man was reported to the Procurator Fiscal and is due to appear at court at a later date.
A Scottish Borders Police Division spokesperson said: "A local man has been arrested and charged in connection with fraud offences.
"It follows an investigation where a woman in Galashiels was subject to fraudulent transactions, by people claiming to be from the company Amazon, in November last year.
"Extensive enquiries were carried out resulting in the arrest of a 31-year-old man in Hawick on Wednesday, April 28.
"He has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal and will appear at court at a later date."
The spokesperson advised locals to be vigilant when it comes to fraudsters pretending to work for retail and streaming giants such as Amazon.
Their statement added: "In this case the victim was informed that an Amazon Prime subscription had been fraudulently deducted from their bank account and they were then persuaded to download malware which allowed the scammer to access bank account details."
"Amazon state on their website that they will never call and ask you to install an app or ask for remote access to your computer.
"They advise that if you receive a suspicious call, email or text claiming to be from Amazon which asks for personal information, a payment, or offers a refund you don’t expect, you should not give out any personal information."
Officers provided some top tips to avoid falling victim to similar scams.
•Do not press 1 or follow any other instructions given in an automated message.
•Don’t give any personal or account information to a cold caller.
•Never follow instructions from an unsolicited caller to download an app or software which would allow them to access your computer remotely.
•If in doubt, hang up and contact Amazon using details found on their official website.
•Report scams to Advice Direct Scotland.
•If you have been the victim of fraud, report it to Police Scotland on 101.
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