Edinburgh crime: Two more Edinburgh locals come forward after being targeted by ‘fake banking app’ scam

Two more Edinburgh locals have spoken up about being scammed by someone using a ‘fake banking app’ that makes it look like the money has transferred.

Nikki Hartley, a 53 year old from Niddrie, had decided to sell her phone after she upgraded, in the hope to make enough money to take her daughter away for a weekend.

She explained that she had put her phone on Facebook market place, and a few people expressed interest, but this one man was really keen.

"These guys are definitely professionals.

Edinburgh crime: Two more Edinburgh locals come forward after being targeted by ‘fake banking app’ scam

"I was in a rush, just about to leave for work, when he turned up.”

The bank transfer was duly made, and the man who had arrived showed Ms Hartley the ‘successful transfer’ page on the app.

When the money didn’t appear, he ‘called his bank’ to confirm that the transfer was on its way.

Ms Hartley added: “He should be on the telly.

"I mean, the amount of people who have been conned…just innocent people on Facebook.”

In Dalkeith, Shelby Noonan had an almost identical experience.

Ms Noonan had decided to sell her iPhone 11 and posted it on Facebook.

The man who responded seemed keen, and clarified several times that she would accept a bank transfer rather than cash.

When he came to the door, Ms Noonan didn’t let him in, but allowed him to check over the phone at the door.

When he said he was happy and keen to buy, he ‘transferred the money’ showing the ‘confirmation page’.

"We stood for about five minutes.

"He seemed genuine, and when I said that my bank can be funny, and sometimes transfers take time, he was saying he was happy to wait.

"We chatted for a bit more, but the dog was barking, and I just said, OK whatever, just head off.”

She added that he left pretty swiftly then, and the money never appeared in her account.

Ms Noonan posted about her experience on Facebook to warn others, and received responses from others who said that exactly the same thing had happened to them.

These incidents follow two more almost identical acts of fraud, one in Fife and another, again, in Dalkeith.

Police posted a warning across social media asking people to watch out for those using fake banking apps to purchase valuable goods.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.