Vigilence has been urged after an elderly man was targeted by a suspected bogus caller on the outskirts of Letterkenny.
The man was working in garden on Tuesday of last week when he was approached by a man who had a work van with him with a ‘roofing’ company name, contact on it.
The man claimed to have just completed work on a neighbouring house but he could not say which house when asked. He tried to get the elderly man in question to agree to having work done on his driveway or his roof, and was quite persistent. The man in question left the area very quickly when the son of the elderly man arrived.
Gardaí are urging people to look out for vulnerable, older family members in the wake of this incident, which comes after a tarmac scam.
“We want to re-issue advice to those with family members who may be susceptible to having bogus callers and rogue traders call to their homes. We urge everybody to speak to their elderly family members, neighbours and friends in relation to bogus callers,” said a garda spokesperson.
“Bogus callers may offer services such as power washing, painting or selling goods. They prefer to target the more vulnerable and people who live alone.
“We advise people not to engage with such callers. Don’t open your door to anyone before you are confident that they are known to you or that they have a genuine reason to be there. Use a chain lock for added security. These callers can be intimidating and often refuse to take no for an answer. Contact Gardaí immediately should you encounter such a caller and try to give as much information as possible, description of person, registration number and direction of travel.”
The garda spokesperson said genuine tradesmen and builders do not usually call door to door seeking work.
“Do not agree to have any type of work carried out by anybody who calls to your home. Genuine tradesmen/builders do not usually call door to door seeking work, they advertise in papers or online.
“We ask everybody to be vigilant when out and about and to report any suspicious people/vehicles to us immediately. Look out for elderly/vulnerable family members and neighbours.”
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