Crieff pensioner scammed out of £40,000 by fake Amazon Prime call

It's emerged a pensioner from Crieff's been scammed out of £40,000 by fraudsters.

The woman in her 80s was persuaded to hand over her bank details after being told she was due a refund from Amazon Prime.

She was also duped into buying hundreds of pounds worth of Google gift cars.

It happened sometime this month, officers say enquires are ongoing.

Police and Trading Standards are warning people not to give out financial information over the phone.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: " As you may be aware, both Trading Standards Scotland and ourselves have been posting regular warnings to raise awareness of various scams, online and over the phone, which have been particularly prevalent recently.

"One form of scam that has been attempted regularly is the “you are due a refund from a service provider” type.

These tend to follow a pattern along the lines of an email or an automated phone call (with the option to press 1), claiming to be from the service provider and stating that you are due to make a payment or are due a refund from them, and you need to provide your bank details or make a payment to them to initiate the transfer of funds.

"These calls / emails are sent out en masse, with the hope that they will find someone who does have an account of this type and who may be persuaded to do as they ask.

Unfortunately, in the past month a woman in her 80s from Crieff was defrauded of £40,000 after being persuaded to part with bank details after being told she was due a refund from Amazon Prime.

"She was also persuaded to buy £100s of Google gift cards and give the details of them to the scammers. Enquiries into this crime are ongoing."

Officers are urging people not to part with financial details over the phone.

Hear all the latest news from across Tayside, Perthshire and Angus on the hour, every hour, at Tay FM. Listen on FM, via our Radio Tay app, on your DAB radio, online at TAYFM.co.uk, or say ‘Play TAY FM’ on your Smart Speaker.