‘Serious concern’ over bogus gardai in Laois

Gardai urged people to seek identification if someone calls to a house claiming to be a garda. 

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley raised the issue at a Laois Joint Policing Committee meeting. 

She said scams involving people claiming to be gardai seemed to be prevalent and were particularly worrying for the elderly and vulnerable. 

Chief Superintendent John Scanlan agreed that it has been an issue in the county.

“Scams of people posing as guards. Yes, there is some happening in county Laois, some happening throughout the country,” he told the meeting.  

Huge problems with "people hunting rabbits with lurchers" in Laois

“There is more than one criminal group involved in it. We are interested in more than one criminal group and we perhaps know the identities of a lot of these criminal groups,” Chief Supt Scanlan told the meeting.  

“We do have a serious concern that people are posing as guards and attending at people’s residences and searching and stealing money from them,” he said. 

“Any plain clothed guards attending at your premises will have the capacity to identify themselves,” he advised.