Scottish Water’s 3 Cs protection against fraud callers

Scottish Water has launched its protection formula for people at risk from fraud or attack by fraudulent doorstep callers.

Its a very simple set of rules. basically it involves remembering three main things to do:

• CARD – ask for an identity card.
• CHECK it – is it the right person and has the card been altered?
• CALL the phone number it should carry – in the case of Scottish Water;sown own staff, that umber is 0845 (naughty this – you pay extra for 0845 numbers) 601 8855.

Your safety routine should be:

• Ask for identity and proof of identity before you open your door, even if it is on a chain.
• Ask for identity cards to be passed to you through your letter box.
• Check the card for authenticity – does it have any sign of tampering or amateurishess? Does it have a phone number you can ring to verify the name and staff number that should be on the card? Does the photograph – which it should carry – look like the person on your doorstep? Don’t be embarrassed to ask the person to stand in front of a window where you can safely see what they look like.
• Phone the number the card should have and ask about the person whose name is on the the card. Ask what they look like – don’t tell the person on the other end of the phone.
• If you’re in any doubt, apologise and don’t open the door. If they say they have a right of entry – and a ridiculous number of types of people do have a statutory right of entry to our homes, ask them to come back with a Policeman.

At all costs, never put yourself at risk for fear of offending a stranger.