A Paisley man was left £10,000 out of pocket after being conned by a "targeted" scam. 

Thieves pretending to be bank staff convinced the 36-year-old to transfer his funds. 

The crooks knew his overdraft limit and bank balance, convincing him they were genuine bank workers.

Cops urged people to be wary of cold calls stating there are issues with their account.

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Inspector Allan O’Hare, from Renfrewshire’s Community Policing Team told the Paisley Daily Express: “The victim was naturally dubious about the call to start with, but when provided with personal information was persuaded that the caller was genuine.

“They then managed to convince him to transfer money out of his account and into a ‘safe account’.

“Unfortunately, this was a false account used to steal his money.

“A well-planned, convincing, targeted scam like this is very difficult to defend against.

“Our advice would be to end any call you receive of this nature and contact your bank yourself to ask if there are, indeed, any issues with your account.

“If you received the call on a landline, call the bank on a mobile, and vice versa.”

He added: “Also, no bank will ever ask you to transfer money between accounts over the phone.”

Police Scotland can be contacted on 101, or alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555 111.