The water utility giant is reminding customers in East Renfrewshire to be aware of bogus callers, and to use the ‘three Cs’ rule to beat these callous conmen, following an incident in the area yesterday.

A man in the Lochlea Road area of Clarkston was the victim of a bogus caller incident last week, when three men called at his house.

Mark Maclaren, Scottish Water’s regional community manager for the area, said: “All our employees carry identity cards, which they are more than happy to show when requested to do so. Householders shouldn’t let anyone into their home until they are sure of their identity. Check through the peep hole on your door; ask them to pass their ID card or letter through the letter box. Our employees will be more than happy to wait while you check their identity.” The men told the resident that his sewer was blocked and that Scottish Water was working in the area but said they were working independently from the company.

No identity badges were on display and no vehicle was parked nearby and, when the men were challenged by the customer and he told them he was going to call the police, the men ran off.

The men were described as being white. One was described as being aged about 30, heavily built and about 5ft 10in tall. Another was described as being tall and thin, aged 50 to 60. The third man was not properly seen.

Following the incident, Scottish Water is reminding customers, including vulnerable and elderly people, that they should follow our ‘Three C’s’ rule — card, check and call — if they are visited by a bogus caller.

When they receive a cold call from anyone claiming to be from Scottish Water, a contractor, another utility or any other organisation, they should under no circumstances open the door without first checking the caller’s identity card or letter. This should be passed through the letter box for verification. This stops a bogus caller forcing their way in, even if the door is ajar, or on a chain.

Mr Mclaren added: “On occasion, when we need access to a customer’s property we normally try to contact them in advance and arrange a suitable time. However, there may be occasions when we need to cold-call. But all our employees carry ID badges and are happy to display these on arrival. Our staff and contractors never call at a customer’s home to collect money.” In a bid to help protect customers against bogus callers, Scottish Water is offering an Anti-Bogus Caller Pack which contains a personal electronic alarm, window sensor, door viewer, UV marker pen and guard bar.

Mr Maclaren said: “We have introduced this pack because of a spate of bogus caller incidents where criminals pose as Scottish Water employees, in order to gain access to customers’ property. The packs have proven to be a great success in previous years and this year we’re again offering them to vulnerable customers. The pack is designed to encourage all our customers to take some simple but effective steps to avoid falling victim to such a callous, calculated crime.” Packs are available to the first 50 customers contacting Scottish Water by emailing customermarketing@scottishwater.co.uk or writing to us quoting Bogus Caller Pack, Customer Marketing, PO Box 8855 Edinburgh EH10 6YQ. Further information is available on our website www.scottishwater.co.uk/boguscaller.

Scottish Water is checking the drain beneath the manhole that the bogus callers lifted.