Gardaí in Letterkenny are urging people to be vigilant for door-to-door salespeople.
It follows recent reports of cold callers approaching homes and vulnerable people.
In one incident, a man was calling to houses selling ornaments and jigsaws. It’s reported that he told a number of different stories to different houses.
“One resident in the area was very concerned for an elderly woman who left the man unattended at her front door while she went to get her purse,” said Sergeant Charlene Anderson in this week’s community garda appeal.
On this occasion, the man did not enter the property, but residents are advised to watch out for their homes and to make their neighbours aware of such situations.
Gardaí urge people to be wary of strangers calling to their home.
Bogus callers may offer services such as power washing, painting and selling goods and prefer to target the more vulnerable people who are living alone.
Precautions to take:
- Do not open the door to anyone before you’ve checked who it is and what they want. Use a chain lock for added security.
- Do not leave strangers unattended at your doorstep.
- Don’t allow anyone that you don’t know to have access to your home for any reason.
- Don’t keep large quantities of money at your house.
- Bogus callers can be intimidating and often refuse to take no for an answer, in those circumstances contact gardaí immediately.
- Be vigilant when out and about in your area and report suspicious vehicles to gardaí.
- If you encounter a situation like this, get as much information as possible without going outside your house – a description of the person and vehicle and the direction they travel when leaving property. These can all be useful to gardaí.
