More than £2m lost to Highland vishing fraud

In keeping with the usual practise of such scammers, firms received calls from people claiming to work for their banks and telling them their account had been compromised.

Police said the incidents, which saw a number of firms targeted, happened between 19 and 30 July.

The force said the fraudsters used “genuine-looking communications”.

Businesses have been urged not to make any transactions if they receive such calls and to instead call their bank using a different phone to the one the initial call was received on.

Det Insp Iain McPhail, of Police Scotland’s Economic Crime and Financial Investigation Unit, said: “These fraudsters are very convincing and have managed to obtain a significant amount of money from local businesses.

“We have launched a thorough investigation into these incidents and are working with the companies’ relevant banks.

“Some of the money that companies have lost has been recovered and work is ongoing to try and recover as much money as possible.”