Gardaí have issued advice to householders after they received recent reports of bogus workmen calling to homes in east Donegal.
It has been reported that a white van with MN registration plates and with two men on board are calling to houses in the Castlefinn area offering to conduct roofing work.
In light of these reports, Garda Grainne Doherty has issue advice for those with family members who may be susceptible to having bogus callers and rogue traders call to their homes.
“Such callers may offer services such as home maintenance work eg. power washing, roofing, tarmacking, painting or they may be offering to sell goods,” she said.
“They prefer to target the more vulnerable and people who live alone.”
If you do need to have work done at your home, Gda Doherty advises you should ask a family member or friend to recommend someone whom they are familiar with to do the work.
“Genuine tradesmen rarely call door to door seeking work,” she added.
“We advise people not to engage with such callers. Don’t open your door to anyone before you are confident that they are known to you or that they have a genuine reason to be there. Use a chain lock for added security.”
However, some bogus callers can be intimidating and often refuse to take no for an answer.
Contact Gardaí immediately should you encounter such a caller and try to give as much information as possible, description of person, registration number, direction of travel etc.
“We ask you to be vigilant when out and about and report suspicious people/vehicles to us immediately,” Gda Doherty concluded.
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