Cold calling cheats pretend to be cops
LOCAL residents have been warned by police to be on their guard against a number of scams being used by criminals.
Conmen are using phone calls, computer screen messages and door-knocking in bids to obtain money.
The cheats are even pretending to be from the police.
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police warned: “There are a number of common scams where fraudsters will call pertaining to be from well- known organisations and will attempt to obtain bank or credit card details.
“They will often use the appeal of telling members of the public that they have won a prize or sum of money to entice the person to pass details in order to claim the prize or have the sum of money sent to their account.
“There have also been instances where computer users find a message on their screen, apparently from the police, stating that they must pay a fine before they can use their computer again. Instruction is then given on how to pay this fine.
“Another computer scam is where a user receives a phone call informing them that their computer has a virus and for a fee, the caller can remotely access the computer and rid it of the virus.”
The spokesman stressed: “Legitimate organisations will never cold call and ask for bank or card details. People should never pass personal or bank details to callers and should contact us.”
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Weather for Selkirk
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 8 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
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