FRAUDSTERS are said to have taken over £44,000 from a vulnerable Helensburgh resident, police have reported as they urge the town to be vigilant against acquisitive crime.
Five people have now been arrested in connection with the alleged offence, which is described by officers as a “complex enquiry”.
Officers have also acted on 12 reported shoplifting offences across Helensburgh and Lomond in the last two months, with efforts continuing to fight those incidents.
The details are given in a report to Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee at its meeting on Tuesday, June 10.
Inspector Bart Simonis said: “We have recorded four frauds since April 1, 2025. Prior to April we saw a number of online frauds recorded.
“These frauds relate to online sales sites such as Facebook marketplace and online investments such as crypto currency. Our pro-active work to protect the public from fraud continues.
“We are delivering inputs to groups and utilising our social media presence to maximum effect. Our relationship with our colleagues in Trading Standards is strong and we are installing call-blockers to landlines when appropriate which is a device to add a level of protection against the automated type of fraudulent call.
“In a recent case in Helensburgh a vulnerable member of the community was defrauded out of £44,200 by individuals claiming to be from their bank.
“This was a complex enquiry and one which usually leads oversees however some great work from a local officer resulted in five individuals being arrested and charged with fraud.”
On the shoplifting offences, the inspector added: “Since April 1 we have recorded 12 shopliftings across Helensburgh and Lomond which is down 33 per cent from the same period last year.
“We continue to target those involved in shoplifting offences, many of whom are linked to organised travelling crime groups.
“We have successfully identified a number of such travelling criminals via our partnership with Retailers Against Crime (RAC) who assist with the identification of these individuals. We are working with colleagues across the force to target known individuals and groups.
“We are also in the process of implementing a new IT process which will make the transfer of large evidential data files easier between businesses, Police Scotland and the COPFS (Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service).”
