Police in Brighton are reminding residents to be careful about who they allow into their homes.
This follows an incident in which a bogus ‘meter reader’ tricked his way into a house in The Avenue.
At about 5.30pm on Saturday 19 November the suspect came to the door and spoke to the resident, who is in his nineties, asking to check on the electricity smart meter, suggesting he was being charged too much.
He was allowed in and spent some time looking at the meter before leaving, but not without first unsuccessfully asking to change a £50 note, thought to be a ruse to try to find out where money might be kept.
After the man had left the resident found that drawers and cupboards in the house had been opened, but nothing had been taken.
The caller is described as white, in his thirties, with dark brown hair, polite and well spoken.
PC Bill Dodge said: “If you have been visited by someone like this, let us know.
“Always be careful when answering the door to callers you don’t know. Representatives of utility companies will always call by appointment and have full identification. “If in doubt, keep them out.”
If you have any information or witnessed the incident, please contact us by emailing 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting serial 1145 of 17/11. You can also report online to https://sussex.police.uk/contact-us/response-to-appeal/ or call 101.
For further information about doorstep crime and ways of preventing it, go to https://sussex.police.uk/advice/protect-yourself-and-others/fraud/doorstep-crime/
I hate to be churlish here but utility companies send people to read meters all the time without appointments. It’s not a hallmark of a scammer.