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Who’s at the door?
Most people who call at your home will be genuine. However, occasionally bogus
callers may turn up unannounced and try to trick their way into your home to steal
valuables or money.
T
hey may work alone or in
pairs, and could be male or
female, young or old. They
could pretend to be from the
council, or say they work for a gas or
electric company, to trick their way in
to your home.
The most common type of bogus
calls in our borough have involved
fraudsters pretending to be from the
water board, or by pretend ‘builders’
saying they need to carry out checks.
TOP FIVE TIPS
Here are five tips on what to do if a
stranger calls:
If in any doubt, do not open the
door
If you do answer the front door,
lock your back door and close
windows first
Use a spy hole or door-chain to
check who the caller is
Ask to see the person’s
identification, even if they have
1
2
3
4
made an appointment to see you. And,
if you are unsure, call their company
yourself (not on a number they
provide) – if you do this, shut the door
while you are doing it
If you are still unsure, ask the
caller to return another time when
someone you trust can be with you.
5
THINK THEY WERE BOGUS?
you think you have a bogus caller
and they are still at your door call 999
n If they leave but you think they were
bogus, you can call the police on 101
to give officers some information
n If you are deaf or speech-impaired,
text ‘police’ and your message to 60066.
n If
working hard to prevent it from
happening, including visiting residents
in sheltered housing to provide advice
and fit alarms. But the more aware all
of us are, the better we can help stop
this callous crime from happening.
“Please look out for your
neighbours– if you live next to an old er
or vulnerable person, keep an eye
out for them. You can even volunteer
to be a ‘nominated neighbour’ under
the police scheme of the same name,
which would mean any cold caller
would have to speak to you before
speaking to your neighbour.”
MORE INFO
LOOK OUT FOR YOUR NEIGHBOURS
Councillor Ranjit Dheer, the council’s
cabinet member for community
services and safety, said: “Distraction
and artifice burglary is appalling. It
targets our most vulnerable residents.
The council and police have been
Contact the safer
communities team at
Ealing Council on
020 8825 5994 or via email at
[email protected]
around ealing October 2017
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