HELENSBURGH police have issued advice to help the public identify scammers after two more elderly residents of the area almost fell victim.

On January 10 a woman was phoned by an unknown man claiming to be a bank employee who stated that there had been fraud on her account at the local branch, and persuaded her to transfer money to another account to safeguard her savings.

The man was very plausible, and the call was only identified as a scam when he asked her to go to her local branch and withdraw her money so it could be physically transferred.

Vigilant bank staff managed to stop the transaction, but police have identified it as a concern and enquiries are continuing.

In a further incident, Alison Gildea from Grey Matters, the Helensburgh and Lomond over-60s group, told the Advertiser one of her members had been called by someone claiming to be from a ‘call blocking’ service.

The woman concerned wasn’t taken in and immediately contacted her bank.

The latest advice from police comes after two Helensburgh residents almost fell victim to phone scams last month.

The elderly ladies were contacted by callers claiming to be from HM Revenue and Customs demanding money. One demanded payment in iTunes vouchers.

Inspector Allan Kirk from Helensburgh police office said: “If you think either yourself or a relative have been a victim of this type of scam, you should contact your bank to check that all is in order with your accounts and report it to local police if you find that you have been targeted.”

Police have asked residents to be aware of the following information in regards to scam calls.

- Banks will never ask anyone for their PIN, either on the phone or face to face and they will not send couriers to uplift bank cards or ask customers to transfer funds or take them out of their account for transfer.

- If anyone calls asking for this information do not hand it over. Should anyone receive a call they believe to be fraudulent, police advise taking a note of any name the caller uses or any phone number they provide as they can be useful in police enquiries.

- People are then advised to call their bank using a phone number from a statement or account information and advise them of what has happened.

Anyone with any information which may help with police enquiries is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where details can be given in confidence.