A FRAUDSTER was foiled in Farnham after foolishly targeting the home of a South East Water employee - the same company he was purporting to be a contractor of.

South East Water received a report of a man claiming to be from its partnering contractor Clancy Docwra last week. He is reported to have knocked on a door in the Weydon Hill Road area and asked to have a look at a customer’s internal stoptap.

Unluckily for the con artist, the customer actually worked for South East Water’s contractor so knew this wasn’t a legitimate request.

South East Water is now warning residents to be alert and to thoroughly check the identity of any unexpected doorstep callers claiming to be from or working on behalf of the company before letting them carry out work on their property or letting them inside.

One action that elderly residents and people living alone can do is to register with South East Water for a security password which will be used by anyone from the company needing entry into the person’s home. Signing up for a password is a simple and effective way to avoid becoming a victim of this kind of crime.

Steve Andrews, head of service management at South East Water, said: “Sometimes our staff or contractors working on our behalf do have to make unplanned visits, but if there is no security password in place, they will always be happy to wait while customers check their credentials.

“In addition, our staff or contractors will always show their photographic identity cards before asking to be let in, be in the company’s uniform, and have a liveried van parked nearby.

“It is worth bearing in mind that if there had been a serious leak then the house probably would have been without water or experiencing low water pressure and we would only be there if the resident had actually called us out.”

Many distraction crimes reported to the police involve callers claiming to be from a water company, or ‘water board’, a description no longer used by all British water companies.

It is known that a number of distraction burglaries go unreported because many vulnerable victims – particularly the elderly – feel too embarrassed or scared to report the crime.

South East Water’s advice is to register for a security password by calling 0333 000 0002.