Members of the public are being urged to report suspected online fraud to the police after three residents were scammed out of more than £170,000 in East Renfrewshire.
Police Scotland revealed the three people, all over the age of 70, lost a combined sum of over £173,000. A report to councillors, on the first quarter of 2022/23, said enquiries are continuing but all victims have had funds reinstated by their banks.
Chief Inspector Graeme Gallie, the area commander for East Renfrewshire, also said a man had been charged after allegations a 69-year-old had paid for plumbing work which wasn’t carried out while a woman was charged after claims a resident “paid for a new family pet which never transpired”.
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He said the majority of acquisitive crime offences have seen a drop in numbers but fraud remains a priority. There were 66 crimes in the first quarter, one down on the same period last year.
However, the report continued the “prevalence of crimes relating to fraud has increased both locally in East Renfrewshire and across the UK”.
The chief inspector said online fraud is “a significant part of what we are tackling”. “As people have moved more and more to online lifestyles, the opportunities for criminality have also grown.
“Whilst Greater Glasgow division has a dedicated economic crime and investigations unit who deal with high value frauds, I also want to highlight the good work done locally. At the start of this quarter, officers from East Renfrewshire successfully traced and charged a male with a bogus workman fraud after a 69-year-old resident paid a deposit for plumbing work which was never carried out.
“In another case, a resident paid for a new family pet which never transpired. After protracted enquiries, an 18-year-old female from Hamilton was traced and charged with this fraud. Frauds of this nature can be particularly distressing due to the emotional investment in the purchase.”
Cllr Katie Pragnell asked what is being done to tackle online scammers targeting Facebook pages. “There have been instances of scammers using local Facebook community pages,” she said.
“There was one recent scam where a woman had claimed to be a survivor of domestic violence and when people contacted this person, they were asking for vouchers from UberEats and other situations. Once the money was handed over, the person’s Facebook page disappeared so many were led to believe it was a scam.”
She was told messaging around online scams is shared on Facebook and Twitter where the “criminals are active”. “But also we know some people don’t necessarily use those avenues so we’re looking at any avenue where we can message out in relation to these offences,” the chief inspector said.
“They can be quite sophisticated, the thought that it is vulnerable individuals that are targets here, everyone can be a target so it is very important we are alive to it.”
Chief Inspector Alan Gray, the former area commander for East Renfrewshire, said: “All instances are investigated, we would encourage members of the public to report any concerns they have because we can then escalate those, whether they be dealt with locally or nationally.
“UK policing is well linked up in this regard in terms of fraud investigation. I think we have good relations in East Renfrewshire around trading standards too.”
A presentation will be set up to give councillors the opportunity to hear from a senior officer in the economic crime unit in Glasgow.
Inspector Michelle Grant added officers are “reaching out to communities” and have attended events such as church coffee mornings to share information. She said officers would give an update to community councils too.
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