The UK’s banks are failing vulnerable victims of bogus workmen by handing over their life savings without question, a senior police official has said.
Elderly and disabled people are being allowed to withdraw tens of thousands of pounds in cash from their accounts by bank staff, who fail to ask what the money is for.
A senior Fife policeman has now called for greater protection for victims of the “piranhas” who prey on weaker members of society.
Chief Inspector Derek McEwan, area commander for Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes, said that while police are working to clamp down on bogus callers, others also have a part to play.
“Some vulnerable members of the community are being failed by larger organisations,” he said.
“Some banking corporations are letting people withdraw vast sums of money and are not asking why.”
Mr McEwan has given presentations to members of the banking industry but said there is still a serious issue around awareness among some staff.
A Fife initiative known as Operation Nominate has been targeting rogue workmen and recently caught someone who had taken more than £40,000 in cash from an elderly woman.
And in September, Fife man Robert McLaren, who on the face of it ran a roofing and paving company, was jailed for two years and nine months for defrauding two women of almost £50,000 by charging extortionate amounts for work that was never done.
He even persuaded one of his victims to buy him a new van. In both cases, he drove his victims to the bank to withdraw cash.
Operation Nominate is now being rolled out in other areas of Scotland where police are experiencing similar problems with fraudsters.
Mr McEwan said that, since the initiative started in Glenrothes, there is an opportunity for the town to be seen to be leading the way in the protection of vulnerable adults.
Addressing members of Fife Council’s Glenrothes area committee, he said: “We have people driving around advertisting themselves as roofing companies and legitimate workers.
“They are giving out receipts which they are asking people to sign saying they are happy with the work they have carried out.
“Unfortunately they are like piranhas and once they identify a vulnerable member of the public they advertise it around their group and prey on them.”
Fife Council operates a Trusted Trader scheme which uses an online directory of local traders who have made a commitment to treat their customers fairly. It helps people make an informed choice when choosing a trader.
Glenrothes councillor Fiona Grant suggested the local authority could distribute stickers for elderly people to display in their windows indicating they only used trusted traders.
She said that would send a message to workmen that the householder did not deal at the door.
The idea was supported by the chief inspector, who said: “Anything we can do to try to deter the crime is far better than spending considerable resources detecting it.”