The top five phone scams currently operating in Edinburgh

Here's a quick read that could save you from losing thousands of pounds to a scammer.

The company, CPR Call Blocker has put together a list of the top five cons doing the rounds in Edinburgh right now.

The key advice? If something looks too good to be true, it probably is....

Police scam

Someone claims to be a police officer or detective and tries to convince you to withdraw cash and hand them over to an investigator. They may give you a fake crime number and investigation details. They also convince you not to trust bank staff. In some cases, people are asked to call 999 or 101 to verify the call is genuine but the scammers keep the line open, so you are actually talking to them.

Amazon Prime scam

Someone claiming to be from Amazon Prime says you’ve been charged for an annual subscription. They then tell you that fraudsters have hacked your account to authorise payment, but it can be cancelled if you press 1 and then give access to your bank account in order to undo the hack. Amazon Prime would never ask you to do this.

Bank scam

Someone may call claiming to be from your bank saying there’s a problem with your card or account. They may ask for your account, card and PIN details. They may also advise transferring your money to a ‘safe’ account to protect it. A bank would never ask you to do this.

HMRC scam

You may get a call from someone claiming to be from HMRC saying there is an issue with your tax refund or an unpaid tax bill. They leave a message asking you to call back. HMRC would never contact you in this way and ask for personal information and bank details.

Compensation scam

You receive a call to tell you that you are due compensation for a vehicle/work accident and you are then asked to provide personal details and/or pay an admin fee to proceed.

Computer repair scam

An old one, but still very popular. Someone calls claiming to be from a well-known IT firm such as Microsoft to tell you your computer has a virus. They will ask you to download ‘anti-virus software’ which may cost but also turns out to be spyware, used to get your personal details. IT companies don't contact customers this way.