Current scams to be aware of in Norfolk
Our colleagues at Norfolk Trading Standards have highlighted two areas of scam activity that have happened in the Norfolk area in recent days. One concerns an incident where a Norfolk resident was contacted by a man claiming to be a detective constable from Hammersmith police who then made a number of claims about the resident's bank card details and home address. Fortunately the resident was aware of this scam approach and reported the incident to Norfolk Trading Standards. This type of activity is known as courier fraud and happens when a fraudster contacts a victim by telephone claiming to be a police officer, bank for from a government department. A number of techniques will be adopted to try and get the victim to and over their bank details or cash, which may then be handed over to a courier.
The second activity concerns doorstep cold callers making claims that they can see issues with roof tiles and chimneys. This follows an incident in the Gorleston area on 15 March, in which two men cold called at a property and told the resident that they ‘had seen a seagull move the chimney pot’ which they offered to recement ‘for £20’. The men then, having accessed the roof, returned to the resident saying they would now need ‘£3,000 for the job’ as ‘the chimney stack needed fixing immediately’.
Fortunately a family member of the resident arrived at this point and told the men to leave.
The men were seen to return to a silver Subaru estate car which had ladders on a roof rack.
On the same day it is understood that these cold callers also called at a property in the Bradwell area claiming they could see ‘a missing roof tile’.
It is possible these callers could move onto other locations in Norfolk this week.
The advice from Norfolk Trading Standards is:
- Never deal with cold callers looking to do work on or around your property
- Never agree to have work done by somebody who is ‘just passing’ or take their word that it needs to be done at all
- Never allow a cold caller access to your home, roof or garden even if they are offering to do tasks for a small fee or free
- Never pay for work before it is completed
- When looking to have work done on or around your property only deal with reputable companies you have researched and chosen yourself and have obtained a written quotation from before starting the work
If you see cold callers operating in Norfolk, please contact Norfolk Trading Standards through their partners the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 or Norfolk police on 101.
If you feel intimidated or are concerned for vulnerable neighbours call 999.
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