POLICE in Redditch are appealing to the community for information following a distraction burglary in the Mount Pleasant area.
On Saturday (April 8) a woman in her 80s was approached by two unknown men requesting work to clean out the gutters of her property. This work was completed and the men were paid an extortionate sum of money for their five minutes worth of labour.
The same man then returned on Monday (April 10) with another unknown man stating that more work was required in the loft. The victim then went to the bank to withdraw the money, but on her way home became suspicious.
At around 9am the men returned and the victim informed them she no longer required the work to be done.
At this point one of the men distracted her in her house and the other took the money from her handbag.
The three offenders are described as:
1) A white man believed to be in his early 40s, 5ft to 5ft 7ins tall, of dirty appearance, medium build, short black hair that appears curly and slight facial hair.
2) A white man in his 40s, between 5ft 7ins and 5ft 11ins tall and of an athletic build with short dark hair and wearing dark clothing.
3) A white man in his 40s, about 6ft in height and of stocky build with black frizzy hair worn longer than the other men.
Police are appealing for witnesses and if you witnessed anything suspicious within the area or those matching the descriptions, then call West Mercia Police on 101 and quote incident 187s of Monday 10 April 2017.
Alternatively, if you want to give information but don’t want to give your name you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or use their anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers.org.uk . Crimestoppers are not part of the police, when you contact them you won’t be identified. The only person who knows you have given information is you.
DS Scott Chivers from CID said: “If you need work doing to your house, or if you need to contact a trades person always ask friends or neighbours if they can recommend anyone that has done work for them which they have been satisfied with. Don’t be fooled by the charm and the low cost of potential guttering, roof work or damp in walls fixes.
“Alternatively look in a local trade’s directory, and ask the trader for the names of people they have completed work for, so you can check on the quality and cost of the work. It is also wise to get at least three quotes”
There are a number of steps people can take to protect themselves from distraction burglary:
• check to see who is at the door by using your door viewer, or looking through a front window
• always put the chain on before you open the door as this is a barrier against unwanted callers
• when an unexpected caller claims they work for one of the utility companies, they must be able to quote your password and unique customer number and produce an identity card: all of the utility companies operate password schemes – contact the customer services department and set up a password with them
• make a note of your customer number, which can be found at the top of the utility bill and keep it handy – this number is unique to your household
• as added proof of identity, genuine trades people should carry an identification card with their photograph on -check this carefully and keep the chain on
• if you’re unsure about the caller’s identity telephone the company the caller claims to represent, but don’t rely on them giving you the number as it may be false – genuine callers won’t mind waiting
• if you’re still unsure, ask the caller to come back later so that you can arrange for a friend or relative to be present
