The Grand Ducal Police today launched a public appeal for information on two men wanted in connection with a series of identity theft scams targeting the homes of the elderly.
On Thursday 5 November 2015, a man rang the doorbell of a house on Rue Jean Jaures in Dudelange where an elderly woman was residing. The man rang the doorbell pretending to be a worker at the nearby waterworks needing to check the lines inside the house.
The resident allowed the man entrance into the house, whereupon the suspect told the woman that he would need to turn on all the faucets and advised the woman to remain in the bathroom during the procedure. The lady waited for half an hour in the bathroom, during which time the perpetrator ransacked all the drawers and cupboards in the house, restoring everything carefully to its original place afterwards so as to not arouse suspicion.
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang again and this time the lady was confronted by another man posing as a police officer. The imposter handed the woman several jewellery boxes and explained that they had been stolen during a burglary. These in fact belonged to the elderly lady, and the supposed policeman gained the woman's trust in order to determine where she kept her jewellery and cash. When the lady showed him the storage places, she realised that her jewellery and money had been stolen.
The alleged worker from the waterworks was described to be around 1.60 metres tall, with a fair complexion, a strong build, brown medium length hair, a black jacket and black trousers.
The man posing as a policeman was around 1.80 metres tall, with a slender frame and fair complexion, dark brown mdeium length hair, wearing black trousers, a black coat and black leather gloves.
The exact same scam had been performed on an elderly woman on Rue du Brill on Esch-sur-Alzette the day before. The woman allowed a man claiming to be from Escher waterworks into her home and was robbed as she waited in the bathroom. The phony police officer who turned up later informed her that the burglars had been caught, but she later realised that a sum of money had been stolen.
On the same day, Wednesday 4 November 2015, a similar incident occurred on Rue Collart in Steinfort. Once again the victim was an elderly lady who was robbed of her purse and other valuables.
The Grand Ducal Police have called for vigilance amongst members of the public, particularly the elderly who are more vulnerable targets for scams. The police reminded the public that police officers always wear a uniform, carry service identity cards with them and speak Luxembourgish, and advised individuals to avoid granting admission to people whose identity they doubted in any way. The police recommended that should a supposed worker of a waterworks or any other company request entrance into a home, that the resident phone the supposed company or municipality beforehand.
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