Rogue traders target vulnerable elderly people

Northamptonshire Police are warning people about rogue traders who turn up uninvited

Police officers have issued a warning about rogue traders after an elderly couple was targeted by scammers.

Northamptonshire Police said the couple in Kettering, Northamptonshire, have had several visits from people claiming to be loft insulation and solar panel specialists.

It added that the traders' vehicle had also been seen in Corby.

PC Jo Barlow, the force's protect officer, said: "Please do not hand over cash to cold callers at the door. Genuine callers will never push you to do anything and will be happy to come back later to give you time to research whether they are legitimate."

Northamptonshire Police said the force's economic crime unit was called to an incident in Kettering earlier this month.

An elderly couple, described as having "vulnerabilities", had been visited several times since November by men claiming to be loft insulation and solar panel specialists.

Their vehicle had been seen in the Corby area and the police said there could be other victims who have not yet come forward.

PC Jo Barlow said: "We are seeing these rogue traders prey on vulnerable people such as the elderly and those with memory loss conditions and we want to do as much as we can to prevent them from succeeding."

The scammers tell people there are problems with their roofs which they can rectify

PC Barlow explained that the callers were not from reputable companies and were trying to persuade vulnerable people that there was an issue with their house which they could rectify.

She added: "We want to issue this warning to the public of Northamptonshire to warn them against these rogue traders and to encourage them to have a chat about these types of incidents with their elderly or vulnerable relatives."

The force has advised people to follow the Stop Challenge Protect guidelines issued by the Take Five fraud campaign.

• Stop - take a moment to stop and think before parting with money or information

• Challenge - ask yourself whether the caller could be fake

• Protect - contact your bank immediately if you think you have been scammed