Warning: Elderly people robbed by deception

Two incidents of theft by deception involving elderly people have taken place in recent days in a neighbouring town.

The first incident took place at around 5pm, when two individuals arrived at the elderly woman's home and pretended to be plumbers called to deal with a water leak. Jewellery was stolen.

The second incident took place during the night and was more akin to a burglary: at around 2am, two individuals entered the home of an elderly woman, who came face to face with them. They pretended to be police officers and took her jewellery, bank card, health card and cash.

There was no violence on either occasion.

A few tips:

• Your home, If people present themselves as police officers or employees of any company, do not let them in without asking them for a business card. If in doubt, always call «17» to check and have the police intervene to clear up any doubts. The perpetrators often pass themselves off as police officers investigating a theft, or as water or electricity company officials coming to check on the property. Sometimes they are canvassers offering various services. In all cases, do not let anyone into your home and call «17» if in doubt.

• Keep your front door and windows locked. Ideally, you should have a burglar alarm system.

• In the street, Avoid carrying bulky bags containing all your papers or lots of cash. Hide jewellery so that it is not too conspicuous.

• To the distributor, Do not allow yourself to be distracted by people making contact when withdrawing money. Make sure that no-one is too close to check the secret code you have entered. If in doubt about the behaviour of a suspicious individual, call «17» to generate a police response.
• Beware of canvassing and scams too by phone (calls, text messages) or internet. Never give out secret codes over the telephone (credit card codes, account numbers, etc.) even if the person on the other end of the line appears to be «professional». Today's scams are highly sophisticated and criminals have techniques for pretending to be bank advisers (using real branch numbers, fake voices, knowing details about victims). In all cases, do not provide any personal information, hang up and call your branch or bank advisor.