Heartless conmen dupe vulnerable residents out of cash

HEARTLESS conmen have obtained large sums of money from vulnerable Warrington residents on the pretext of carrying out repairs to their homes – only to vanish without doing the work.
In two incidents, residents were taken to town centre banks where they were persuaded to withdraw large amounts of cash.
One of the residents was duped in this way twice.
Now police have issued a warning to residents to be on their guard if unexpected callers arrive at their homes offering to carry out repair work.
The first incident took place on Friday July 8 when a resident on Pinewood Avenue was targeted by a bogus caller who told him that his roof was in need of repair. The caller then told the resident that he could do the repairs, but would need to be paid in advance.
The victim was then taken to a bank in Warrington Town centre, believed to be Santander on Buttermarket Street, where he withdrew a large quantity of cash to pay for the works.
Next day, the victim was again targeted. Once again the victim was taken to a bank in the town centre, where he again withdrew a quantity of cash which he believed would pay for the repair work.
The second incident occurred at on Tuesday July 12 at an address on East View, Grappenhall. Once again the offender told the victim that their property was in need of repair and that he could do the work on the condition that the works were paid for in advance.
On this occasion the victim was taken to Lloyds Bank in Stockton Heath where he withdrew a large quantity of cash to pay for the repair work.
Inspector Matt Durcan said: “These are both despicable incidents by offenders who have specifically targeted the most vulnerable in our communities. In both cases no repair work was ever carried out and the victims have clearly been preyed on due to their vulnerability.
“I cannot stress enough the importance of people not letting anyone into their home who calls unexpectedly and if you have a chain, always use it. Make sure you ask for identification and if they provide it, close the door and check the number, but most importantly, if you have any doubts about them being genuine, don’t let them in and ask them to come back later when you are not alone. Any suspicious activity should be reported to police.
“I urge anyone with any information into either of these incidents to contact Cheshire Police on 101 so that we can ensure theses offenders are brought to justice. I’d also like to appeal to the local community to look out for elderly relatives, friends and neighbours to help reduce the likelihood of someone else becoming a victim.”
Anyone with information regarding the incidents should contact Cheshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 286 of 11/6/2016.