Bogus builders rip off elderly people

A GANG of bogus builders is targeting old age pensioners, forcing them to withdraw large amounts from their bank accounts.

Gardaí said the gang, which intimidates and holds people against their will, has extorted money, using a variety of scams, from old people in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Kerry.

Over a week ago, an 85-year-old woman living in Mallow, Co Cork, was taken to a local bank and forced to withdraw €4,000 for work on her house which amounted to less than €1,000. Fortunately, the bank manager became suspicious. Realising they’d been rumbled, the gang fled.

On October 15, an elderly man living in Dunmanway, Co Cork, wasn’t so lucky. He was threatened by the gang and forced to hand over €5,000 for materials worth less than €300.

On the same day, another pensioner in Bandon, Co Cork handed over a cheque for €750 for repairs. The gang cashed the cheque within minutes, but not before they’d changed it to €1,750. Gardaí say the gang are also watching for death notices in newspapers. Using a fleet of vans, they arrive at the house of the deceased and tell relatives that they had been asked by the dead person to carry out repairs. They then charge exorbitant prices for the work.

“They even call to the homes of elderly people pretending to be VAT men and demand to be paid for work which has already been carried out by a reputable builder. “We believe in several cases they have intimidated elderly people out of up to 10,000 for jobs that would cost only a couple of hundred euro,” Sgt Mick O’Donoghue said.

A woman in Killester, Co Dublin, was the victim of another infamous ploy. The crooks copied a legitimate flier from a registered company but altered the company’s mobile phone number to suit their own. On October 9, they called to the woman and persuaded her to part with €300 to pay for some fencing which she wanted them to get. They never returned. The gang pretend to be experts in fitting PVC guttering and use false business signs on their vans, which they can alternate or remove if they think gardaí are looking for them.