Police are appealing for information in connection with a 77-year-old woman being targeted by fraudsters attempting to steal cash from her home. The incident took place on Thursday, 7th August at 1.30pm in Lower Broad Street, Dagenham. Two men claiming to be from the council approached the woman at her home and said they needed to pour chemicals into her drains to counteract odours from a chemical spillage nearby.
Suspect 1 told the victim that he was working for the Council and that the man with him was a troubled individual on work experience. Despite repeated attempts to confuse and distract the victim, no cash was taken.
Police would like to hear from anyone who has information concerning the identity of the suspects who are described as follows.
Suspect 1: White male with tanned skin, 30-40 years old, 5ft 6” tall of slim build with short black receding hair. He was clean shaven and wearing glasses with round frames and tinted lenses. He wore a Barking and Dagenham Council branded high visibility jacked with a black shirt and black trousers. He also wore a photograph ID card on a lanyard around his neck that also carried the LBBD branding.
Suspect 2: White male, aged in his 20’s, overweight with a pale, fresh faced complexion. He is approximately 5ft 5-6” tall, clean shaven with dark blonde shoulder length wavy hair. He spoke with a feint unidentified accent. At the time of the incident he was wearing a dark blue and grey shirt with grey trousers.
Anyone who has information that could assist in this investigation should contact Detective Constable Ben Lucas of Barking and Dagenham CID by dialling 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555 111 quoting reference 5112758/14.
The Crimestoppers guarantee of anonymity has never been broken and callers are not even asked for their name. Your call could eliminate someone from police enquiries or could help remove a criminal from your area.