Biggar farmers among hoax call targets

The call was sophisticated with hoaxers inviting the farmers to phone the number on the back of their debit card.

But they had jammed the lines open and had a tape of the ringing tone, and the supposed “outgoing” call was a continuation of their hoax.

“Please be vigilant” was the message tweeted by the NFUS, warning farmers not go give their bank details over the phone.

One farmer who spoke to the Gazette said that he had been phoned on a Saturday night, with the caller claiming to be his bank notifying him there had been a transaction outwith the normal spending pattern of the farm.

Over the course of a number of calls lasting an hour and a half, the hoaxers tried to persuade him and his brother to move the contents of their account into another account.

“They got him to phone the number on the back of the card, but they jam the lines open,” said the farmer.

“My brother thought because he phoned this number, he was genuinely through to the bank.”

But, instead, he was still speaking to the hoaxers.

“Basically, they were wanting to shift the contents of our current account into a new account,” said the farmer.

“Luckily, I knew about the scam.”