Miss-Delectable
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http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/headlines/display.var.2044595.0.deaf_and_dumb_scam_thwarted.php
A DOORSTEP seller who claimed to be deaf and dumb was seen using a mobile phone by a police officer.
Last weekend a team of door-to-door salesmen was operating in the Pewsey and Marlborough area attempting to sell paintings. They carried cards saying they were deaf and dumb.
But PC Mark Fiander-Lewis kept a discreet watch on one of the salesmen after receiving a complaint from a resident.
When the salesman thought no-one was watching he took out a mobile telephone and made a call.
PC Fiander-Lewis thanked who called in with information about the doorstep sellers.
He said: "There were a number of such sellers active across the Marlborough and Pewsey areas on Monday evening and they all turned out to be part of the same gang.
"They were travelling around our area in a mini bus which I later located and escorted out of the county."
He apprehended one of the sellers and said: "The man who I dealt with was certainly not deaf and dumb.
"Yet he was claiming to be just that on his begging/selling cards."
Appealing to householders not to buy from this kind of itinerant seller, PC Fiander-Lewis said: "Please continue to report any further sightings of similar doorstep callers who you may see in our area.
"Do not be duped into buying any of their pictures.
"These sellers are good actors and it may be tempting to feel sorry for them.
However, the stories they claim are not genuine and they are simply attempting a scam to obtain money from you."
The officer said he was investigating an eastern European connection with the gangs.
PC Fiander-Lewis said: "The elderly are particular targets of these gangs, but they will try their luck at any address.
"In some cases there may also be more serious offences of obtaining property by deception and even burglaries linked to the gangs."
PC Fiander-Lewis said a similar gang had worked the Rushall area last year.
He said he had arrested eight of them at the time and discovered the original paintings they were selling were just cheap photocopies.
He said: "The individuals behind these gangs see people who live in the rural areas of the UK as as a particularly soft touch.
"So it is up to us all to make their trips a waste of money by not falling for any of their scams."
A DOORSTEP seller who claimed to be deaf and dumb was seen using a mobile phone by a police officer.
Last weekend a team of door-to-door salesmen was operating in the Pewsey and Marlborough area attempting to sell paintings. They carried cards saying they were deaf and dumb.
But PC Mark Fiander-Lewis kept a discreet watch on one of the salesmen after receiving a complaint from a resident.
When the salesman thought no-one was watching he took out a mobile telephone and made a call.
PC Fiander-Lewis thanked who called in with information about the doorstep sellers.
He said: "There were a number of such sellers active across the Marlborough and Pewsey areas on Monday evening and they all turned out to be part of the same gang.
"They were travelling around our area in a mini bus which I later located and escorted out of the county."
He apprehended one of the sellers and said: "The man who I dealt with was certainly not deaf and dumb.
"Yet he was claiming to be just that on his begging/selling cards."
Appealing to householders not to buy from this kind of itinerant seller, PC Fiander-Lewis said: "Please continue to report any further sightings of similar doorstep callers who you may see in our area.
"Do not be duped into buying any of their pictures.
"These sellers are good actors and it may be tempting to feel sorry for them.
However, the stories they claim are not genuine and they are simply attempting a scam to obtain money from you."
The officer said he was investigating an eastern European connection with the gangs.
PC Fiander-Lewis said: "The elderly are particular targets of these gangs, but they will try their luck at any address.
"In some cases there may also be more serious offences of obtaining property by deception and even burglaries linked to the gangs."
PC Fiander-Lewis said a similar gang had worked the Rushall area last year.
He said he had arrested eight of them at the time and discovered the original paintings they were selling were just cheap photocopies.
He said: "The individuals behind these gangs see people who live in the rural areas of the UK as as a particularly soft touch.
"So it is up to us all to make their trips a waste of money by not falling for any of their scams."