Beating the bogus caller

01/11/2005

A presentation to members of the Eckington Over 60s Club provided valuable advice on how they could avoid becoming the next victim of a distraction burglary.

Karen Jackson and Tina Tanner from Derbyshire Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were guests at the group's meeting on 26 October.  They gave a presentation to around 70 members on the dangers posed by rogue traders and bogus callers and - through a specially designed quiz - gave advice on how people should respond if they receive unsolicited calls.  The presentation also covered the work of the CPS and our work in bringing those involved in distraction burglaries to justice.

Karen Jackson is the Head of the North Criminal Justice Unit at the CPS, which prosecutes cases in Chesterfield Magistrates' Court. 

She said: "While most house callers are genuine, distraction burglars will call unannounced with the sole intention of tricking their way into people's homes in order to steal their money or valuables.  Older people can be particularly vulnerable to this type of crime. 

"We wanted to help raise awareness of the techniques used by bogus callers to try and gain access to homes and give out practical advice and information on how people can protect themselves from such callers.

"Over the coming months our lawyers will be visiting a number of groups in the Chesterfield area, all with older members, to drive home the message that they should always say no to cold callers, always check ID, and report any suspect callers to the police."