Perth cops protect elderly from doorstep crooks

Sep 14 2010 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

A PERTHSHIRE woman in her late 80s was conned out of £25 by a ruthless crook in her own home – indicating that the traditional ‘scamster’ season is not over yet.

Every summer, police receive numerous reports about crimes involving ‘soft targets’ – vulnerable elderly residents who callous crooks zero in on.

This year, despite a significant drop in such activity due to cops increasing efforts to deter persistent scamsters such as bogus workmen, the disturbing practice remains an issue.

At 3pm last Tuesday an unsuspecting Abernethy resident in her late 80s who lives alone on Newburgh Road answered her door to a man claiming he needed water for his car’s radiator.

A Tayside Police spokesman said the man appeared friendly and non-threatening, so the widow told him to use the tap in her kitchen while she remained in her garden.

“He’s come back out with his water bottle full, walked over to his car where another man was standing, and then they both got in the car and drove off,” he said.

“Clearly the radiator didn’t need topping up after all. So when the lady checks her handbag, which was in the kitchen, she discovers £25 has been stolen from her purse.”

Unable to identify the make or model of car, only that it was dark blue, the victim told police the man she let into her home was slim and aged about 40 with brown hair.

His shorter and stocky accomplice aged between 50 and 60 had short dark hair and wore a grey coat.

Tayside Police Community Safety Inspector Ian Scott said there were many different ruses such criminals employed, including old favourites such as checking gas or electricity meters.

“But bona fide representatives will have proper ID and will not be driving around in an old Ford transit,” he said.

“Some of these offenders are very creative but we’ve had a few apprehensions in the past few weeks and we also target known recidivists.”

Police recently issued a warning to elderly householders following a fresh wave of calls and complaints about shoddy workmen, believing perpetrators active locally in 2007 were back in town.

The typical caper involves the dodgy workmen door knocking and offering to tarmac drives or carry out gardening services or other building repairs using leftover materials for a “bargain” cash price.

Generally, these perpetrators are aggressive and intimidating.

Meanwhile in Crieff, a recent hot spot for bogus or cold callers, police have introduced the Nominated Neighbour initiative to provide reassurance for older members of the community.

Rather than open their doors to strangers, residents display a police-supplied card advising callers to go to a trusted neighbour’s house to have their identity vetted.

“This is a relatively new initiative to prevent the likes of cold callers selling house alarms using semi-hard pressure techniques,” said Insp Scott.

“If the caller appears to be genuine, then the nominated neighbour accompanies them to the resident’s home and stays there with the caller for the duration of the visit.

“The critical thing for elderly people is that they should never open their doors to strangers.”