Alex Trelinski
THREE bogus gas inspectors conned €6,000 out of an elderly woman in the Valencia region.
The trio, who pretended to work for a Valencia gas company, travelled to La Vall d’Uixo(Castellon province) to carry out scams.
The Guardia Civil arrested them in Loriguilla and Ribarroja with the fraudsters having previous convictions for similar offences in the Valencian Community.
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The investigation is still open with further arrests not being ruled out.
The two men and a woman dressed in uniforms that copied those used by well-known gas firms.
They targeted elderly people who lived alone and selected addresses in streets with little traffic and no surveillance cameras.
The fraudsters landed on a woman who they visited three times and pretended to carry out repairs for €6,000.
No invoice was supplied by the trio to their client.
The bogus gas inspector con is a familiar trick played on especially elderly people in the area.
The Guardia Civil says home owners should always be suspicious of people who come to properties to offer unrequested services and claiming to work for a gas company.
Companies have to notify somebody in advance of a visit and entry should be refused to anyone appearing without notice
A invoice also has to be supplied listing all the work done.
“Despite all these measures, if you have finally been the victim of this type of scam, you should go to the nearest Guardia Civil barracks to file a complain,“ the Guardia stated.
