Doorstep Crime
Criminal Traders
Criminal (Rogue) Traders are fraudsters pretending to be builders, gardeners, salesmen or other tradespeople trying to convince you that you require urgent maintenance to your house or garden. They will cold call and try to pressurise you into a quick decision to allow work to be carried out for a ‘special cash price’. Offering to carry out repairs to the house, such as roofing, guttering or damp proofing. They will strike up conversations with the householder to go one of two ways; with intimidation or aggressive behaviour to frighten them into having the work done “If those tiles fall off and kills someone”; or to befriend them into believing they are there to genuinely help, with elements of grooming the victim taking place. The offer of work will also cover driveway tarmac/resurfacing, power washing or any gardening job from grass cutting, hedge trimming to fence erecting.
Bogus Officials
Burglars don’t even go to the trouble of breaking into your home if they think they can knock on the door and get invited in! Distraction Burglars normally work in pairs and whilst one distracts the householder the other will sneak in and complete a quick search taking anything of value they come across. These criminals will use any excuse to gain entry, often pretending to be an official from a utility company, social services, trading standards or police.
Nottingham Knockers
You may know this group as ‘the duster sellers’. They are normally young lads that turn up on your doorstep with a huge black holdall full of cleaning products ranging from tea towels, dishcloths and dusters to sprays, polishes and even small clothing items. Initially they all came from the Nottingham area, obtaining their goods from a warehouse at Clifton just outside of Nottingham and they then come ‘knocking’ on your door to trade, hence the term ‘Nottingham Knockers’. Unfortunately, not only are they after selling you poor quality items at highly inflated prices they are also checking out suitable targets for details to be sold onwards to professional burglars.