THIS week, Trading Standards and police have been scouring the streets looking for rogue traders aiming to rip customers off.
FULL STORY: Trading Standards hit Oxfordshire's streets in Operation Rogue Trader
Here are just five of the recent rogue trader scams in Oxfordshire, which cost an estimated £373,000 a year:
Oxford: Last week, an elderly woman in Oxford fell victim to a distraction burglary after answering her door to a man who said he was from the Water Board and ‘needed to gain access to the property’.
South Oxfordshire: Police warned of a surge in ‘Nottingham knockers’ in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of the White Horse in July. The scammers, who sell cleaning items door to door, often try to find out if the homeowner is vulnerable.
Botley: In March this year, one elderly man was tricked by a conman into handing over £5,000 for gardening work so bad it was described as ‘worthless’.
Wantage: A conman accepted £150 upfront for fixing the fence of an elderly stroke victim last September and never returned.
Yarnton and Didcot: Rogue trader Tom Mobey was jailed for 10 months for ‘deliberately’ targeting elderly victims for dubious building work. Last year it emerged he later repaid the two residents.
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