How to spot a scammer or door-to-door conman

08 Jan How to spot a scammer or door-to-door conman

Our homes are our sanctuary, where we feel safe and can relax. Or they’re supposed to be.

Unfortunately, even in our homes, we can often fall victim to a door-to-door scammer or conman. In recent times, there were 17,264 reports of doorstep crime, with 65% of the victims being aged 75 and over. What’s more, it’s also been reported that the median value lost from doorstep crime was £1750, according to research by Citizens Advice.

Trading Standards UK also reported that, on average, there are around 17,000 reports relating to doorstep crime made in England and Wales each year. However, due to low reporting rates, it’s actually estimated that this figure represents only around 10 to 20% of incidents that actually take place, with the figure looking more like 85,000 to 170,000. They also note that it’s common for victims of doorstep crime to be older or vulnerable adults.

With that in mind, here is everything you need to know about common doorstep scams and a number of things we can do to help keep our homes and ourselves safe from door-to-door fraudsters and scammers.

What is a doorstep scam?

A doorstep scam is when an individual or group of individuals come to your home and knock on your door, in an attempt to fraudulently take money and/or personal data from you. There are many different types of door-to-door scams, however these types of scams are illegal and should always be reported.

Common doorstep scams

Firstly, let’s go through the common types of door-to-door scams:

1. Bogus officials

These scammers take the guise of established companies, like your utility company, to gain entry into your home. Or, they could even pose as the police or council, dressed in convincing uniforms and carrying badges.

Often, their IDs are fake and they just want to get into your house to either swindle or trick you into divulging personal information they can pass on or use. They may also be scouting your home for a future break-in.

What can you do?

Luckily, many utility companies today have a password scheme to make it easier for you to suss if someone is genuine or not. If they can’t provide the password or claim to have forgotten it, you’ll know to immediately call the company to check. And if you haven’t got a password set up, always ask for proof of ID and call the company to check if that person works for them and has been scheduled to visit you that day.

~~Also,~~ You should also watch out for scammers claiming you have a gas leak and that they need to urgently get into your property. In genuine circumstances, these people are often accompanied by the police and/or fire department, so again, check credentials before allowing them access into your home.

2. Door to door charity scams

It is common practice for charities to work door-to-door, drumming up support for their cause. However, this then often makes illegitimate charity collectors harder to identify.

These collectors will typically have little resources to share with you about their charity, use pushy language in an attempt to guilt you, and will request cash rather than online donations or setting up direct debits.

What can you do?

All official and legitimate charities have unique charity numbers that can be checked on the government’s Charity Commission website. If they are legitimate, they will not mind at all if you check their charity out online first. You should also contact the charity itself to check if the person at your door has been assigned collection duties.

Don’t let politeness blind your senses; if it doesn’t feel right or you don’t wish to donate, you can politely refuse. You can always say that you’re not in a position to support at the moment, or that you’d like to research the charity in your own time.

3. Rogue traders

You may get cold-callers who turn up at your door wanting to offer a service that you don’t really need. They’ll try to charm and persuade you to hire them because they have noticed something wrong with your property or something that needs improving, or they may attempt to worry you that something bad will happen to your home if you don’t get it fixed right away.

However, the trouble here is that they’ll often offer a quick fix for cash at an inflated price, or simply take the cash and not do the job to standard, as they’re not actually qualified – often known as cowboy tradesmen.

What can you do?

Warning signs for rogue traders who simply want to con you into work for inflated prices or dodgy jobs offer to do the work quickly and take payment in cash. Reputable tradesmen should have marked vehicles and invoices, be able to take card payments, and often aren’t knocking on people’s doors to get custom.

If someone turns up at your door eager to do work, ask for their company’s name and look out for their vehicle. You’ll know things are suspicious if they have parked their vehicle hidden away or if they are talking too much. Calmly ask them if they can wait a minute before you check their company out online. The more questions you ask, the more they’ll get worried and expose themselves. Often they will make an excuse and depart in a hurry.

If you’re worried they could be right about something being wrong with your home, contact a reputable and recommended tradesman to come and have a look for you. Those in the trade may likely know about common fraudsters in the area, and will be happy to help.

4. Fake consumer surveys

You may get some scammers asking you to fill out a survey, but it’s just a ruse to get personal details from you that they will either pass on to their scam and fraud links or use themselves. They may even use this time to try and find out more about your property, for a future break-in attempt, or attempt to sell fraudulent products or services to you.

What can you do?

Whatever the survey, you can ask any questions first to find out more about the company or purpose, like where is your data going or why do they need it? You should also check with the organisation or company they’re claiming to represent, as chances are, it’s not legitimate.

Whilst we all want to be polite, if somebody is taking too much of your time or you’re not interested in taking part, you can politely say you’re not interested and say goodbye.

5. Hard luck stories

This term describes scammers who take advantage of people’s kindness and goodwill by knocking on a door and claiming an emergency. They may ask to use your phone or need some cash.

This type of scam can pull on people’s heartstrings, as they’ll have a well-thought-out story to convince you they’re in desperate need. However, in most cases, it’s all a ruse ~~all~~ whilst they’re planning to swindle you – from car keys to loose change or jewellery.

What can you do?

These are one of the hardest scams to detect, as these are people claiming to be in need – rather than from a company or charity, where you can check these things. All you can do is be reasonable and calm to find out exactly what this person needs and what their story is. Ask questions to see if there’s anything not quite adding up or to see if they expose themselves or trip up. They may give you a wrong name the second time, for instance.

As soon as you suspect anything, kindly say you don’t store any money in the house or that you urgently need to get back to another task, and say goodbye. Don’t let them in if you are on your own or you sense danger. If they are genuine, they should understand. However, if they keep demanding or get aggressive, close and immediately lock the door and try to contact neighbours, relatives and friends.

It’s also a good thing to be more in touch with your neighbours to watch out for scams like these, as you can find out if the same scammers are targeting your area, and often they may have a different story for others. This could be through your local Neighbourhood Watch scheme, or community social media pages.

6. The pre-payment meter scam

This scam involves someone turning up at your door claiming to be a representative of an energy company to offer you something like a discount. They use cloned keys to top up your meters (this only works on meters installed before April 2011), however, these top-ups are illegal and you will still owe money to your energy supplier.

What can you do?

Be advised that energy companies never make door-to-door sales and again, you should always contact the companies they claim to represent to check if they have sent anyone to your property to carry out anything.

You should also only make top-ups from official Payzone and Paypoint outlets, or on their official online portals, if available.

7. Door to door sales

Whilst this scam isn’t as common anymore, you may find pushy sellers coming to your door offering large discounts, limited-time offers, or claiming they only have so much stock to sell – especially around the Christmas period. These days, all items are available online or in reputable stores, and so items you purchase from these scammers may be fake, stolen, or at inflated prices.

These scammers will only accept cash, and won’t be able to provide you with proof of where the product has come from.

What can you do?

We all love a bargain, but there are many ways to get one without purchasing on your doorstep. If you’re interested in the product, politely ask the person what company they represent, and then for a moment to look it up for yourself. You can easily look online to see if door-to-door sales is part of a company’s business scheme, or you can call their customer support to ask if that is the case.

Whilst they may seem pushy with their offer, the best option is to tell them that you don’t keep cash in the house, but that you may be interested in purchasing online once you’ve had some time to think about it. Then, you can just politely say goodbye and close and lock the door.

8. Unexpected deliveries

These days, we seem to shop online more than we do in stores. And with that being said, it can sometimes be hard to keep track of all the goods being delivered to your home.

However, if something arrives that you don’t remember ordering, or the delivery person is asking for payment upon delivery or to take your personal details, this is most likely a scam.

What can you do?

If you think it could be your parcel, ask the delivery person which company they’re from and check your emails – here you should find receipts of all items you’ve purchased and what delivery courier they are using. If they’re asking for payment or details, politely let them know that you’ve already paid for the delivery, or that the courier company already has the details they need. Tell them to return the parcel to the sender, and that you’ll contact the company yourself to rearrange the delivery.

Alternatively, if you’re unsure on what to do, simply say it’s not your parcel. A genuine company will attempt redelivery or will refund you for missed delivery. Never take a parcel that you don’t think is yours, or pay or provide details for something you know you don’t need to.

How can you protect yourself from doorstep fraud?

There are some key tips you can follow to help protect you and your families from doorstep fraud or scams. These include:

1. Check identification

Any genuine or legitimate caller will not mind you requesting identification and credentials. In fact, they should expect it. Ask the caller to show you their company ID and look to see if it appears credible and legitimate. If you have any concerns that the caller is presenting false identification, contact the company to verify.

2. Contact the company or charity

Identification cards from scammers may be fake, so it’s always best to contact the company, charity or organisation the potential scammer is from, to check if they do indeed work for them and have been sent to do that exact job. If they’re legit, they won’t mind waiting for you to make that call and may even expect such a response.

3. Set up passwords for utility companies

Utility companies should allow you to have a password set up to verify anyone knocking at your door to complete any jobs. Due to the volume of doorstep scams, most companies will offer this service any time you speak to them.

Set a password as something unique to your home or family, but equally as un-guessable as other passwords you may have. Ask the caller to confirm your password before continuing the conversation or allowing them into your home.

4. Deterrent signs

Help deter any potential scammers and door-to-door conmen with deterrent signs like ‘strictly no cold-callers’ or ‘cold callers aren’t welcome’. Many doorstep scammers do not want to waste their time or risk talking to suspicious people who may report them, so will choose to avoid your home as they’re passing.

Many councils offer these deterrent signs to their communities, so you could contact your local authority to request one. Alternatively, you could order signs online or print them out at home and attach them onto your front doors or windows.

5. Driveway gates with access control

Have more control over who you let onto your property by using GSM intercoms to speak to visitors before granting access. Video intercoms can also show you exactly who’s wanting to turn up at your door. With driveway gates, you can benefit from more security and better surveillance when linked to gate access control. If you do not recognise the caller, ask them to show their identification to your camera or just simply ignore them altogether.

For more information on choosing the right driveway gate for your property, explore our extensive guide.

6. Nominate a neighbour

Find out if your area is part of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme or nominate neighbours who can help with checking if door-to-door visitors are safe. You may notice signs around your neighbourhood showing that the area is part of a ‘Neighbourhood Watch scheme’, however long standing neighbours may know more information about common scams in the area.

7. Lock all your doors and use chains and spyholes

It should go without saying to keep doors locked, but don’t forget to use chains and spyholes if you have them. Chains add an extra layer of security from unwanted visitors entering your home, whilst spy holes allow you to see who exactly is at your door. From there, you can choose to open your front door whilst still on the chain or to talk through the closed door, if wanting to interact with the caller.

8. Hide your valuables

You should also be sure to hide your valuables out of sight from doors and windows. Scammers coming to your door may not just be looking to scam you out of money or personal details, but they may also be looking for things to steal in a future break-in. This includes everything from car keys to jewellery and electronics.

9. Make sure you have a good security system

Home security systems have advanced tremendously, so why not update yours to a smart one that can link to a doorbell, indoor and outdoor cameras? With this feature, you can communicate with anyone without having to open your door. Some smart camera home security systems can also send messages to relatives or friends, to notify them that you have a visitor for an extra layer of protection.

10. Never share your bank card details or PIN number

Just like in email, text message and online scams, reputable companies will never ask you to randomly send them your bank card details or pin numbers. It’s the same for door-to-door visitors – if someone claiming to be from a company asks for your bank details or pin number, you’ll know straight away that it’s a scam. Again, if you’re ever in doubt, always check with the company and give them a call.

11. Be vigilant

Always remember to be on your guard and more alert. Talk to neighbours, speak with friends and family and always report anything suspicious. Try to get as much detail and information from door-to-door visitors as possible so you can report them more accurately. You should not live in fear of scammers coming to your door, so be vigilant and do all you can to prevent yourself and your surrounding neighbours from being scammed.

12. Call the police

For non-emergency reporting, where you think you have been a victim of a scam or potential one, call the police non-emergency number on 101. For any emergencies where you sense you’re in danger or could be, call 999 and keep yourself locked inside whilst you await further instruction from the police.

What to do if you’ve been a victim of a doorstep scam?

As we mentioned in the findings on doorstep crime, it’s estimated that the actual figures on door-to-door scams and crime are a lot higher due to under-reporting. This is believed to be because of victims of scams feeling embarrassed or not being sure where to report them.

If you have been a victim of any scam or fraud, you can report the incident to Action Fraud. They are the UK’s National Fraud reporting centre that investigates and monitors cases of fraud, scams and cons.

Other places you can report to or get advice from are:

Protecting yourself at home all starts with good security. And when it comes to your castle, you should look after your drawbridge. A driveway gate can not only add a robust level of security to your home, but it can also play a huge part in keeping door-to-door scammers away from your home with deterring surveillance and increasing your home’s privacy.

For more information on home security, driveway gates and access control, contact The Expert Gate Company today or explore more resources on our blog.