Garda warning to elderly over rising level of scams

Westmeath's Crime Prevention Officer has advised older people to keep the minimum amount of cash in their home.

Sgt John Connolly issued the warning following a number of incidents in neighbouring counties where bogus callers have been impersonating officers in a bid to dupe elderly residents out of cash.

In one case recently, a substantial amount of money was stolen from a man in Ballylin, Ferbane  by a man who produced ID purporting to be a detective investigating counterfeit money.

Separately, there have been door- to-door calls recently in Athlone by people purporting to be roof repair people or selling fuel, the latter of which officers believe were acting as a decoy to see if anyone was in the house at the time.

Sgt John Connolly advised: “The criminal in this scam calls to a person alleging to be a Garda with a plausible story such as checking savings or security.”
He said people should always look for photo identification, ask what station they are from and what is the phone number of the Garda Station. If in doubt people should ring your local station (Athlone or Mullingar). He said people should have these numbers'.

The caller should be left outside until you check with the station, Sgt Connolly adde.
Use your door chain to control who comes in, but in no circumstances should you leave it on at night, he advised.
“Above all ring 999 if you feel in fear or under pressure from such people,” he concluded.