Yet another elderly person has fallen victim to distraction burglars – this time a Hove woman who was conned by a man claiming to be from the waterboard.
The victim said she let the man into her home in Holmes Avenue when he told her he was working down the road and there was a leak, just before 11am on Friday, 16 April.
The man asked her to go upstairs and switch on the bathroom taps. When he had left the woman realised she had £80 missing from her purse.
The suspect is described as white, aged between 35 and 45, 5ft 4in, with short brown hair and was wearing a dark coloured pullover.
Anyone who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area or any information should call Sussex Police on 0845 60 70 999 quoting serial 616 of 16/4.
This is the latest in a string of similar incidents in which burglars have posed as utility workers, traders and even policemen to con elderly victims in the city.
Sussex Police have issued the following advice:
- If you don’t know who is calling at your house to take your time – a genuine caller will wait for you to contact a utility company to check their identity
- Look up the number in your phone book or from a utility bill, don’t accept a mobile number offered by the caller
- You do not have to let people in and if you are uncertain then don’t, however persuasive or plausible the caller is. It is better that a genuine caller is turned away than a burglar is let in
- Call the police immediately if you become the victim of one of these burglars or if you see anyone behaving suspiciously near where you live.
