A BANK manager has warned con artists her staff have got their number after an elderly Johnstone man almost lost £17,000 to a suspected fraudster.

Laura Melville, who is in charge at the Royal Bank of Scotland branch in Johnstone town centre, was at work last week when an 83-year-old man tried to withdraw a large sum of cash for a roofing job he’d been offered.

Staff who were concerned about the request contacted police, who subsequently spoke to the customer and were able to arrest a 25-year-old suspect in Spateston Road, near to the elderly man’s home.

READ MORE: Man arrested after trying to trick pensioner out of £17,000 for Johnstone 'roofing job'

The suspect has since been liberated from custody while further investigations take place.

Miss Melville spoke to The Gazette following the incident and explained how the bank has a system in place to detect potential cases of fraud.

She said: “The customer explained he was getting work done to his roof and I had asked him for an invoice, which he didn’t have. We would always ask for an invoice.

“He explained the workman was at the house doing the work as we spoke and we asked him a few more questions about the kind of repairs he was getting done. He said it was to do with guttering.

“If the customer doesn’t have an invoice, we always want to establish what is going on.”

The Gazette: Jim Cast praised the staff at the bank Jim Cast praised the staff at the bank

Police said the suspect had turned up at the man’s home last Monday and carried out a small amount of guttering in return for £100. He is then said to have turned up again the following day, demanding £17,000 for further work to be done, and convinced the pensioner to visit the RBS branch.

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Inspector Jim Cast, based in Johnstone, has encouraged residents to keep an eye on their elderly neighbours.

He said: “The bank staff did a cracking job here. On this occasion, we were able to make an arrest very quickly.

“I would encourage neighbours and family to be proactive and check in on elderly people.”

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