Sinn Fein councillor Colly Kelly
SINN Féin Councillor Colly Kelly has urged residents in the Bogside and Brandywell to be on the alert over bogus ‘cold callers’ targeting vulnerable people.
It follows an incident this week during which a man who is suffering with Dementia handed over a large sum of money to a person going around the doors selling kitchen utensils.
Councillor Kelly said “This man’s family are very distressed about this incident.
“A person called at his home when his relatives were out getting a few messages.
“When they returned home they seen the kitchen utensils and then discovered that a large sum of money well in access to the worth of the goods was handed over.
“Sadly this is not the first type of such incidents we have seen in Derry in recent years.
“The family of the man have asked me to get the message out through the local media to alert families of relatives living on their own or suffering from illnesses that this sort of stuff is going on.”
Councillor Kelly said there were a number of steps that people can take to ensure the callers are genuine.
“If people are in doubt they should request to see identification,” he said.
“Furthermore they can secure the door with a chain before answering the door.
“Alternatively if the caller is genuine, they will be able to provide a phone number and business address for the person to call to make sure they are genuine.”
