A 57-year-old Dundee woman has been conned out of almost £2000 in an iTunes voucher scam.
The woman was duped by a man who called her on Monday September 3 claiming to be from her internet service provider.
She was advised that she was due a refund after recent power cuts with the man then offering to refund her account for the mistake.
In doing so, he claimed he had incorrectly overpaid money back into her account and asked her to purchase iTunes vouchers to cover the over-payment.
The victim then purchased £1900 worth of vouchers.
The format of the scam, which has become common among fraudsters, sees the victim receiving a call instilling panic and urgency to make a payment to clear debt.
This is usually through purchasing iTunes Gift Cards from the nearest retailer.
After the cards have been purchased, the victim is asked to pay the alleged outstanding debt by sharing the 16-digit code on the back of the card with the caller over the phone.
A spokesperson for the Tayside Division of Police Scotland urged the public to be knowledgeable of the scam.
The spokesperson said: “No genuine company or government department would ever make such a request and any call of this nature is a scam.
“Please, and we cannot stress this enough, do not ever be led to believe that you owe anyone money which can be paid through vouchers or giftcards.
“iTunes Gift Cards can only be used to purchase goods and services on the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, or for an Apple Music membership.
“If you are contacted by telephone and approached to use the cards for payment out with the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, or Apple Music, you are very likely the “target of a scam and should immediately report it to the police.
“Please do not ever provide the numbers on the back of the card to someone you do not know.”
The scam means that, once the numbers are provided, the funds on the card will likely be spent before the victim is able to contact Apple and cancel the cards.
The spokesperson added the force will continue to visit supermarkets and retailers to provide advice on “what to look out for” should a member of the public try to buy a large number of vouchers.
For more advice on Keeping Safe and avoiding scammers please visit www.scotland.police.uk/keep-safe.
