Aberdeen and Strathclyde arrests over bank frauds
Seven people have been arrested over a series of frauds targeting elderly and vulnerable people across Scotland.
Bogus caller scams are thought to have netted gangs almost £300,000 in the past few months, police said.
Some of the victims in Strathclyde, Aberdeen and Perth and Kinross have lost their life savings after giving out bank details.
Tayside Police said five men and two women had been arrested, aged between 19 and 37.
The arrests - made after raids in the Strathclyde and Aberdeen areas - were part of a joint operation between the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency and several Scottish police forces.
The four-month investigation has also led to a "significant sum" of money being recovered, Tayside Police said.
Det Ch Insp Colin Gall, who is leading the operation, said: "'Crimes of this type are particularly wicked because the victims tend to be the more vulnerable members of our communities.
"Their vulnerability is exposed by the trust they show to people who contact them claiming to be someone that they are not and seeking details they are not entitled to.
''Amounts stolen can vary from small sums of money to hard earned life savings.''
Commonly, bogus callers will use personal information about people to convince them they are bank officials, before encouraging them to reveal confidential details such as Pin codes.
But Tayside Police warned that no banks cold-called or emailed customers requesting private information and said anyone approached in such a way should contact the police.