If you don’t know anyone nearby, contact your local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme or Safer Neighbourhood Team to find out if they can help. Before letting a stranger into your house, give your neighbour a call and ask them to pop round.

Nominate a neighbour: if you have a relative or friend who lives close by, ask if they’d mind being on standby in case you get any suspicious callers.

To activate the service they might need to put you on their Priority Services Register. Call your utility company to arrange this.

Set up a utilities password: you can set up a password with your gas and electricity providers so that you can be sure callers (such as meter readers) are genuine – only genuine callers will be aware of your password.

Tell them you’re not interested or that now is ‘not convenient’ and ask them to come back at a different time (when you can have a friend or relative with you). If you feel uncomfortable or have any doubts, don’t let them in. To be safe, look up the company number yourself rather than trust the number on their ID card.

Look for ID: ask to see callers’ ID cards and call the company to see if they are genuine.

Keep your doors locked with the chain on.

Keep your home secure: don’t let any stranger into your home.

Put up a sign: place a sign in the window near your front door saying that uninvited callers are not welcome.

Be on your guard: always be suspicious of anyone turning up at the door uninvited – regardless of their story.

In fact, 85% of victims of doorstep scams are aged 65 and over, according to National Trading Standards. Scammers often target older people for doorstep scams as they are more likely to be at home during the day, and scammers might find it easier to intimidate or confuse them. How big is the problem?Īccording to Action Fraud, around £18.7m was lost to doorstep scammers in 2020, but it also believes that many of these offences go unreported. Follow our tips below to prevent doorstep scams. Their main aim is to trick you out of money or gain access to your home to steal valuables.Įither way, the key is not to let them in, and report them as soon as possible.

Or they might be pushy and intimidating, trying to get you to sign a contract or buy something you don’t want. Scammers usually have the gift of the gab and will try to smooth talk you with a convincing story.

There are some honest doorstep sellers, but there is a fine line between a scammer and an unscrupulous trader. This can sometimes be even more challenging than dealing with other types of scams, such as phone scams or online scams.

There can be an added pressure when dealing with someone face-to-face. A doorstep scam (or doorstep fraud) involves someone calling to your front door out of the blue, with the aim of tricking you out of money.

How to beat act 2 hello neighbor