The administrator of a local Facebook community group has branded scammers on the page as “sick” after a recent surge in fake posts.

Gordon McKay has run the Old Kilpatrick, Bowling and Dalmuir Information Page on the social media site since 2021 but has been forced to block more con artists than ever after spotting the bogus contributions to the forum.

A recent repeated trend afflicting the page has been from a community member looking to sell tickets for pop superstar Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour visit to Murrayfield in Edinburgh.

But Gordon explained the fraud is further enhanced by the criminals hacking into and then using ordinary folk's Facebook profiles.

He told the Clydebank Post: “It was brought to my attention recently by page members, I think I have had to block about 15 already.

“They are using people's profiles, so the advert looks legit.”

As well as the Taylor Swift scam, Gordon also highlighted a darker ploy, with posts he has deleted and then blocked claiming to have a child who has been killed on the way home from the park and looking to sell a “recently bought” PS5.

“There are some totally sick people out there,” Gordon continued.

“And scammers are trying to take people’s hard-earned cash.”                     

The recent spate of false posts comes as Police in nearby East Renfrewshire warned communities there not to buy tickets on social media after a man paid for tickets that never showed up.

A 17-year-old girl was “identified” and “arrested for appearance at court”.

On the Police Scotland website, it warns: “Social networking can be used for harmful or criminal purposes. Fraudsters can use them to steal people’s money. Take some sensible precautions.”

However, the force refused to provide comment for this story.