Police in West Dunbartonshire are launching free call blocking devices for vulnerable people who are most at risk from becoming victims of scams.

The move comes after an increase in the variety of phone scams being reported by local communities.

This work is supported with funding from the Life Changes Trust. The Trust is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

The most common types of scam call police are currently seeing are calls from people pretending to be from your bank asking you to transfer money into a different account, or pretending to be from reputable companies such as BT or Microsoft.

As more people signed up to streaming services during lockdown, there was an increase in scam calls from people pretending to be from Amazon Prime.

Cold callers would say that the recipient’s subscription was due for renewal or that their account had been hacked. 

Another type of nuisance call which emerged towards the end of 2020 was the sale of shares and timeshares, possibly in response to widespread issues with travel and accommodation during the pandemic.

Chief Inspector Coleen Wylie, Police Scotland area commander for West Dunbartonshire, said: "Scammers are devious and deliberately set out to identify and exploit the most vulnerable in our communities, by obtaining personal information and encouraging people to give them their bank details.

"This is often achieved by convincing unsuspecting victims that urgent action is needed – a tactic which particularly targets elderly and more vulnerable people.

"We are delighted to have received this funding, allowing us to install call blockers in the home of residents most at risk of becoming a victim within West Dunbartonshire."

The trueCall call blocking units will be installed by Lomond and Clyde Care and Repair within West Dunbartonshire.

As the number of available devices is limited, police are looking to supply these to people who are most vulnerable of falling victim to these scams, particularly if you live alone or suffer from a disability or mental impairment such as dementia.

If you wish to apply for a device, send an email to trading.standards@west-dunbarton.gov.uk with the name, address, telephone number and reason for the request (i.e. vulnerability).