Elderly man robbed by men posing as gardaí

An elderly bachelor in West Cavan was left badly shaken after two men, posing as gardaí, conned their way into his home, hit him with an implement and made off with a sum of cash.

The man, who lives in an isolated location on a narrow laneway near Bawnboy, suffered a minor injury to his arm arising from the incident, which occurred at about 1:30pm on Tuesday, September 17 last.
It's understood that the men claimed to be gardaí carrying out security checks at elderly people's homes in the local area.
They were granted access to the man's home but, once inside, the man, aged in his eighties, became suspicious when one of the two men made their way to the pensioner's bedroom.
"When the intruders were asked to leave, a struggle ensued and the man sustained minor injuries. A small sum of cash was taken during the raid,” a garda spokesperson told The Anglo-Celt.
It was only afterwards that a sum of €700 in cash was reported missing from the property.
As a result, gardaí are appealing for any witnesses travelling in the Dernacrieve area around the time of the incident to contact them.
The matter is being investigated out of Ballyconnell Garda Station.
No arrests have been made to date, and the investigation is “ongoing”, the garda spokesperson confirmed.
 

Bogus callers

Gardaí, meanwhile, have once again warned the public about bogus callers and the threat of various scams in the local area over the past week.
On social media, gardaí reported that a male had managed to con his way into an elderly man's home by saying he was a “relative of the man's home help”.
“After a good look around the house he left empty handed.”
The second reported incident was a phone call purporting to be from an internet provider. “The caller even knew the first name of the person called. An 01 Dublin number came up on the caller ID. Thankfully again his efforts went unrewarded.”
“Bogus callers will stoop to any level to gain the confidence of the more vulnerable in our communities. If you have elderly relatives, neighbours or friends living alone, please advise them not to entertain strangers at their door and never let them in. Similarly don't give out personal information to anyone over the phone regardless of how pleasant and familiar they pretend to be. Always be vigilant and report suspicious activity to your local Garda Station.”
 

Clothes collection scam

Again, and separately, gardaí are alerting the general public after a leaflet was distributed in and around Cavan Town area purporting to be collecting clothing donations on behalf of a 'breast cancer prevention programme'.
The collection was due to take place on Thursday last, September 19, and the literature stated: 'If we are able to diagnose beast cancer early enough, we may be able to save women's lives'.
Gardaí however posted a photo of the flyer, commenting: 'If you have received one, please disregard as checks have established this collection is in no way affiliated with the Irish Cancer Society.'