Warning of scammers pretending to be gardaí searching for fake €50 notes

Sergeant John Kelly said if someone calls to the door looking to see €50 notes, people should 'run them' from the door and ring gardaí

Sergeant John Kelly said an incident in Watergrasshill last Friday saw two men knock on a door and they presented the person in the house with what resembled a Garda badge. File picture

Gardaí in Cork are warning of scammers knocking on doors claiming to be members of the force searching for counterfeit €50 notes.

Sergeant John Kelly said an incident in Watergrasshill last Friday saw two men knock on a door where they presented the person in the house with what resembled a Garda badge.

“They showed him a bunch of €50 notes which they stated were in circulation and that they were fake,” Sgt Kelly told Patricia Messinger on C103's Cork Today Show.

The men said they were calling house to house and that they needed to check all €50 notes, Sgt Kelly added.

“This is a scam we’ve seen before.” 

Sgt Kelly said thankfully the man realised it was a scam and he cleared the people from his door.

He added that gardaí would never call to someone’s door asking to check €50 notes.

'Run them and ring us'

Sgt Kelly said if someone calls looking to see €50 notes, people should “run them” from the door and ring gardaí.

Sgt Kelly added that they are appealing for anyone with information on similar incidents to contact them.

He said the two men, “who seemed to be bulky enough”, were driving a small blue hatchback that was "possibly a Focus".

There is a possibility that people will try the scam again on Friday, he said.

“There’s no coincidence that it was a Friday that they called.

“They expected people had been to the post office and would have collected a number of €50 notes as part of their pension.”