Elderly con victim was driven to bank

Apr 28 2009 by Jenny Wood, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

HEARTLESS fraudsters drove a Perthshire pensioner to the bank to withdraw thousands of pounds as part of a doorstep con.

Insistent on being paid up front for roof repairs, they drove the 81-year-old Bridge of Earn man to the bank before fleeing without doing any work.

Police believe this could be part of the same “red transit van” gang who duped an elderly couple in Blairgowrie out of cash several days before.

In the most recent incident reported to Perth police, the ‘workmen’ called at the pensioner’s home on Bridge of Earn’s Back Street. After much persuasion the householder agreed to let the men fix the roof of his home.

But insistent a significant chunk of the agreed rate was paid up front, one of the workmen went as far as to drive the pensioner to the bank on Tuesday afternoon to get a four-figure sum.

But once they had their hands on the cash, the two workmen left without carrying out any work. The pair have not been seen since.

The pair of bogus workmen used a red transit van. One of the men is aged in his mid 20s to early 30s and described as around 5’9” tall, of slim to medium build, clean shaven, with short dark hair and was wearing a light blue T-shirt and jeans.

His accomplice is in his 40s, about 5’6” tall, of stocky build with short dark hair. When the householder first encountered this man he was wearing a suit, the following day he was wearing overalls.

Just over a week earlier a group of bogus workmen in a red transit van called at the Altamount Road home of an elderly Blairgowrie couple and charged them a fortune for carrying out shoddy work to the roof and path.

In that incident all of the ‘workmen’ wore yellow and black reflective jackets and spoke with Irish accents.

Last week, issuing a warning to householders to be on their guard, Detective Sergeant Yvonne McGregor appealed: “Please do not trust cold callers. There have been a number of incidents recently and we urge people to take care.

“Bogus workman often use slick sales talk to convince householders they are getting a special deal or they claim there is an emergency and try to panic the householder into giving the caller immediate access to the property.

“Sadly these criminals often prey on the most vulnerable members of our communities,” she added.

Anyone with information about bogus callers is urged to call Perth police on 0300 111 2222, or 999 in an emergency.