A cheating charity collector has been on the prowl and plying his trade in Angus.
Police have appealed for information amid concerns about a bogus charity collector knocking on doors in Brechin.
The man spoke with a foreign accent and has been posing as a fundraiser looking for money for a new drug being developed to help in the fight against breast cancer.
Police have appealed for witnesses and anyone who has been contacted but also urged people to be vigilant.
Bogus charity collections is a growing problem that is estimated to cost UK charities up to £50 million in lost income annually.
The man who was claiming to be a charity collector for Breast Cancer UK was knocking on doors in Brechin’s Nursery Lane. He was described as being around five feet six inches tall, with dark curly hair, wearing a red jacket and a fleece underneath.
He began to talk with a woman after knocking on a door in Nursery Lane. However, she stated that she was not interested and shut the door.
The bogus caller knocked on another door and went on to claim fundraising was for a new drug the charity was trying to develop. He did not have identification and was allowed to go no further by the householder.
Breast Cancer UK is an independent charity based in London and does not have collecting agents of this kind.
Alistair McLean, chief executive of the self-regulatory body for fundraising, the Fundraising Standards Board, said: ”Complaints to the FRSB about bogus goods collections have increased by 100% over the past year as supporters query suspicious collections and express their confusion about which collections are legitimate.
”The problem has now become so widespread that charities are losing many millions each year and public confidence in this form of giving has taken a battering.
”More important than all else, we need to reassure the public that they can give confidently to the charities they care about and how, with some simple checks, they can make sure that their donations are going just where they want them to.”
Criminal activity around charity doorstep collections lies in two camps theft of bags and bogus or fraudulent collections that falsely claim to be raising money for charitable causes.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau says bogus collections are often carried out by organised criminals, with links to money laundering, human trafficking and serious violent offences.
A Tayside Police spokesman said all residents should be suspicious of anyone arriving unannounced at their door and follow well established advice.
Anyone with information about the bogus caller should call police on 0300 111 2222.
Photo by Flickr user DaveBleasdale