Fake gardai break in at Briarhill?

LadyMayBelle

Excuse the fact I have no link but Im reading from page8 of the Star from today...small column article about how the gardai are hunting two men who pretended to be gardai and gained entry into an elderly mans house in Briarhill and then ransacked his house? I heard nothing about this and live around there so surprised it didnt make Galway news or did it? Ill scan the article tomorrow cos Im in work and cant source an internet link. Shocking behaviour nonetheless.

poisonated

that is pretty awful...it sounds so easy for that to happen though.I wonder,on what pretense, the guy let them into the house or was he just an old and confused man.

dnme

Sweet mother of jesus, it makes my blood boil. I would love 10 minutes with the scum, lock me in a room with em.

I love old pople, they have so much class and grace. They are so friendly and trusting. I have a lot of time and respect for them. I fcuking hate any crime against old people, children or animals. I'm shaking with anger.

_Whimsical_

LadyPennyworth wrote: »

Excuse the fact I have no link but Im reading from page8 of the Star from today...small column article about how the gardai are hunting two men who pretended to be gardai and gained entry into an elderly mans house in Briarhill and then ransacked his house? I heard nothing about this and live around there so surprised it didnt make Galway news or did it? .

It did but only very little was mentioned. They should've made more of it.

ELDERLY MAN'S HOUSE RANSACKED BY ALLEGED GARDA IMPERSONATORS
January 8, 2010 - 12:38pm
Gardaí are urging homeowners to be wary of any unknown house callers after an elderly man's home was ransacked by men claiming to be Gardaí.

Two men called to the 80 year old's home in the Breanloughán area of Briarhill around half seven last Sunday evening.

Source : http://www.galwaynews.ie/10580-elderly-mans-house-ransacked-alleged-garda-impersonators

biffoman

on a slightly different note,I read somewhere [cant think]there was a lad over in England who pretended to be a cop.He had everyone convinced he was the real-deal.On his weding day he had a letter from a top policeman saying he couldnt attened but wished the happy couple well.He even maneged to go to a school to do a talk about policework.He bought all the stuff from the net.What a cheek.

Xiney

I heard it on Galway Bay FM - they said the men pretended to be Gardai and told the man they were looking for his tax documentation. He gave them 500 euro to pay what they said were tax arrears.

There ought to be a government TV campaign for the elderly to not keep large amounts of cash in their homes so that they can not fall for these scams.

Bosco boy

Trouble is that its not that easy sell the arguement to elderly people that the banks are a safe place to put their money, u can't blame them for trying to mind it at home in the current financial climate, I bet alot more people are doing it these days and more of this type of crime will happen unfortunately as a result

_Whimsical_

Unfortunately there are just so many scams out there. I know someone in Limerick who's granny lives alone in the city.Before Christmas 2 guys came to her door one night.They told her that they were plumbers working next door and that they'd "cut a pipe" and there was now very bad flooding next door.They told her they couldn't turn the water off in the neighbours home and could they try doing something in her attic to try to turn the water off.She wanted to help her neighbours so she let them in.They asked her to turn her tap on in the kitchen and watch the water flow until it stopped while they went into the attic.She dutifully did this while they ransacked her house! 20 mins later she went looking for them upstairs but they were gone along with everything of value that she owned.

My friend was telling me recently that someone had fallen for the same ploy in Dublin and spoke about it on the Gerry Ryan show. I thought it was a very cunning and believable scam. It's nearly impossible to be wary of every single person who knocks at your door after all.

_Whimsical_

Bosco boy wrote: »

Trouble is that its not that easy sell the arguement to elderly people that the banks are a safe place to put their money, u can't blame them for trying to mind it at home in the current financial climate, I bet alot more people are doing it these days and more of this type of crime will happen unfortunately as a result

I think the issue is bigger than old people being wary of banks.Banking has become alot more elderly and technophobe unfriendly in recent years.

Most old people who have money have saved it up from unspent weekly pension.Its usually money they forsee they may need for emergencies or household expense or grandkids birthdays etc .They know they'll need to get it quickly iwhen they do need it.Getting out of the house to get it is physically difficult for alot of them and also needing to use ATMs to get their hands on it would overwhelm many Id say.You cannot withdraw money from an employee inside the bank in the bank I use anymore so they'd have to use an ATM. I can understand why many of them might like to use a bank but might feel that there are just too many hurdles involved in doing so.
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