Pair hunted after posing as police officers to steal £25,000

Con-artists posing as police officers stole £25,000 after scamming their victims with what are believed to have been fake ID badges.

On Friday, the victim who lives in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, received a phone call claiming to be from the fraud office of a bank.

Later that day, two men came to their front door and claimed to be Police Scotland detectives investigating bank fraud.

Superintendent Campbell Wallace said the scammers spent some time at the property and are even believed to have shown fake ID badges.

It follows a national roll-out of new identification cards in October 2021 that are designed to be “extremely difficult” to replicate – which the superintendent said officers should be able to provide when on police business.

Police Scotland said this was just the latest in a string of more than 30 incidents reported in the Renfrewshire area.

Between October 2021 and January 2022, there has been a spate of reports of individuals claiming to be from Police Scotland visiting or contacting members of the public in the area.

Superintendent Wallace said: “Whoever these men were, they were not genuine Police Scotland officers.

“They were at the property for some time and even showed ID badges which we believe to be fake.

“Unfortunately in this case, the scammers took £25,000 and we are asking people to be vigilant in relation to this kind of fraud.

“If you receive this kind of contact, ask for the officer’s details and which department they work for. If concerned you can always call 101 and request verification.

“We began a national rollout of new identification cards, which feature an up-to-date picture of the officer along with other key information and various security enhancements that make them extremely difficult to replicate.

“This rollout was started in October 2021 and all police officers should be able to provide this identification when carrying out legitimate police business.”