A Perthshire policeman has highlighted the problems with bogus callers who he claims have a “suckers’ list” of potential victims.
David Summers, community acting sergeant at Blairgowrie Police Station, told The Courier there had been a concerted effort to clamp down on such criminals.
However, they were using more elaborate methods on unsuspecting east Perthshire residents.
“These bogus workmen have a suckers list and pass it on to each other,” he said. “If people have been done once they will get done again. They target the same group as they’re vulnerable.
“These bogus workmen will do a job for them the first time such as trimming the bushes in their garden and charge £50.
“Then they will come back two weeks later and say ‘While we did that we noticed you had two or three slates missing’ and get paid around £2,000, as they have gained the person’s confidence then.
“We have visited around 20 vulnerable people who have been targeted over the last two to three years and visited all their neighbours.
“It’s amazing, as some neighbours say ‘I saw some guy up a ladder’ and we’ll ask them if they phoned us and they’ll say no.
“So we’ve handed out the bogus workmen leaflet about these scams and are saying to all the householders living nearby to look out for bogus callers.”
Chief Inspector Mike Whitford added: “We have a scheme of nominated neighbours where we’re telling vulnerable people, ‘listen, you don’t have to answer the door.’
“We need people to support these elderly people as there are such a variety of scams they’re painful.”
Mr Summers also outlined the ongoing work to engage with youths in east Perthshire.
“Blairgowrie’s a fortunate area in that there isn’t a lot of crime,” he added. “The reality is there aren’t houses being broken into. That is a fear that the public have.
“The main thing is youths causing annoyance and hanging around on street corners but we’re trying to work with the youths on that.
“We have a big drive at the moment to get diversionary activities put in, such as Streets Sports For All. This started up about four years ago in Perth.
“They come along and build a big, netted pitch and the youths can play football and basketball. We identify a problem area where there has been complaints about youths.
“The age group is from 12 up to 16. We publicise it and try to get the children to come along and Streets Sports For All arrive and set it up,” he added.
“By all accounts it works really well. We liaise with Perth and Kinross Council who contact Streets Sports For All. I’ve been speaking to the Blairgowrie youths and they all think it’s a great idea.”