Sussex Police is warning residents to beware of cold callers, after a woman was conned out of £1,700 at her home in Brighton.
At about 1pm on Wednesday (29 June), a 70-year-old woman answered her door in Park Crescent Road to two men who claimed she required work on the roof and the guttering of her house.
The victim agreed to pay them £1,700 for the guttering work, which was carried out to an extent, and the men repeatedly demanded a further £1,900 for the roofing work.
It was only after the woman attended her building society to obtain the second sum of money that she realised it was a scam and contacted police.
PC Justin Stacey said: “I’d like to warn people not to agree to any work being done unless they have checked the credentials of anyone offering to do it, and not to let anyone into their homes without seeing identification.
“I’d also like to remind people to keep an eye on any elderly family or neighbours they have, and to report anything they feel is suspicious.”
The two suspects are described as white men, aged in their 30s or 40s, who spoke with Irish accents and drove a white Transit van.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call 101, quoting serial 1092 of 30/06.
To read Sussex Police’s Little Book of Big Scams, visit http://www.sussex.police.uk/advice/protect-yourself-and-others/fraud-and-scams.
