This is a Community Message from Aylesbury Watch Office on Monday 28 June 2010.
This week is national Rogue Traders week and Thames Valley Police and Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) want to remind residents to be vigilant of rogue traders after a number of distraction/rogue trader type incidents were reported to both the police and council.
People have attended addresses pretending to be from the council offering refunds for bills and home energy saving products, or claimed to be from the police or the water board. Residents have also received calls asking for their bank details to give refunds and confirm security details. These offenders are trying to make people let them into their homes or give them confidential information.
Thames Valley Police and AVDC are asking you to follow the basic advice below:
* Every time a stranger calls at your door, it is essential that you ask them for identification, no matter which organisation they are from - even the police. Any genuine caller will hand over their identification so that you can ring the organisation they are from to check they are genuine, while they wait locked outside. Don't just accept the identification is genuine; always check by ringing the organisation.
* If in doubt - keep them out! Do not open the door to strangers; if you are not expecting someone, do not open the door to them. Use a door chain and door viewer to see who the caller is. Never let someone into your house before you confirm who they are.
* Ensure that back doors are locked if someone approaches the front of the house; distraction burglars usually work in pairs and whilst one is distracting you at the front door, another may be trying to gain entry at the back of the house.
* If someone is offering to do work for you at the door step, do not allow them to do it there and then, ask them to call back at another time when someone is with you. Do not be forced into accepting work that you do not want done. If in doubt about traders, call your local Trading Standards department at the council.
Distraction burglars are heartless criminals who use tricks to con their way into vulnerable people's homes and steal their valuables. Thames Valley Police and the council cannot tackle this crime alone and need the public's help. You can regularly reminding your elderly and vulnerable neighbours, friends or relatives about safe ways to answer the door to an unexpected caller.
If you would like any further crime reduction advice please contact your Crime Reduction Advisor via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505 or log onto the Thames Valley Police website at www.thamesvalley.police.uk. For further advice you can contact AVDC on 01296 585858.
If you have any information about criminal activity, and you do not want to talk to the police, you can call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555111.
