Warning: Fake Door-to-door Debt Collectors

Kent Trading Standards have received a report of a resident in Ashford being cold called on the 8 January. The caller claimed to be a debt collection agent. When the consumer asked to see his ID card he waved it at her and then put it away. He said he needed cash or a bank card.

Luckily the home owner refused to let the man gain entry. The consumer asked for his employee's telephone number but the number he gave was for a local chemical plant who told the consumer when she rang them that they had received other calls about this man.

When the consumer returned to her front door where she had left the man outside he was speeding away in his car.

• Never let strangers into your home
• If you open the front door to an unexpected caller please be aware of other doors and windows that might be accessible, techniques used by distraction burglars often centre around one person distracting the home owner at the front door while their accomplice attempts to get in round the back.
• Always ask for and check their ID. It is best to locate the number yourself rather than calling the number they give you, as the number they give you may not be genuine.

To report any concerns you have call Trading Standards via Citizen Advice Consumer Service on 08454 040506.