Police warn of bogus "waterboard caller" in West Yorkshire

The force received reports of a man knocking on doors claiming to be from the "water board" in Knottingley two weeks ago.

However, the man instead stole cash from both of the elderly residents, police conifrmed.

A further report of a distraction burglary took place on January 19.

A 91-year-old victim was the latest victim of the scam.

Police said: "This time 2 suspects attended and one male distracted the elderly victim in the kitchen while the other suspect (not known if this was a male or female as they were never seen) entered the property and stole cash and jewellery."

The force has now urged the public to always check the ID of anyone at the door - even that of emergency services workers in uniform.

Police sadded: "It is worth keeping a list of useful numbers by your phone so that you can make the calls if you ever need to."

Numbers may include:

Police - 101

Yorkshire Water - 0345 1 242424

Wakefield Council - 0345 8 506506

Wakefield District Housing (WDH) - 0345 8 507507

Energy provider (for example British Gas, Eon, N-Power etc)

"Never ring a phone number provided by that of the doorstep caller, always obtain the correct number for yourself to make sure you are definitely contacting who you believe to be."

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