Scammers defraud an elderly dementia sufferer out of money

The incident happened when two men, presenting themselves as salesmen, called at the elderly man’s door.

The man was in the house on his own at the time of the incident. The man and his family did not want to be identified.

The family did however ask Sinn Fein Councillor, Colly Kelly, to let people know about the incident and warn them to be alert.

“This man’s family are very distressed about this incident,” said Colr. Kelly.

“A person called at his home when his relatives were out getting a few messages.

“When they returned home they saw the kitchen utensils and then discovered that a large sum of money, well in excess to the worth of the goods, had been handed over.”

Colr. Kelly said the man’s family asked him to notify the public about the incident because they do not want to see another family have to go through what they have experienced in recent days.

“Sadly, this is not the first time we have had this type of incident - we have seen too many of them in Derry in recent years.

“The family of the man have asked me to get the message out through the local media to alert families of relatives living on their own or suffering from illnesses that this sort of thing is going on,” added Colr. Kelly.

Colr. Kelly advised anyone who suspicious of someone at their frontdoor to immediately ask for identification.

“There are a number of steps that people can take to ensure the callers are genuine.

“If people are in doubt they should request to see identification, furthermore they can secure the door with a chain.

“Alternatively, if the caller is genuine, they will be able to provide a phone number and business address for the person to call to make sure they are genuine.”