Glass of water scam: how crooks get into your home

No good resolutions for scammers. The year 2023 has barely begun when the first scams appear, forcing you to be ever more attentive by consulting your SMS, your emails, but also by opening your door. Last week, Planet took you through the scams most likely to happen at the start of the year, but new tricks have just emerged, including one that targets you directly at home.

Do you know the “false quality” theft? Very widespread in France, this technique can trap anyone, even if it primarily targets the elderly. As the Ministry of the Interior explains, it is a police expression implying “a modus operandi bringing together certain common factors: one or more individuals using trickery suggesting that they belong to a recognized profession of utility or a profession allowing them to enter private premises”. In recent years, thugs have presented themselves as police officers, EDF agents, firefighters, but also chimney sweeps.

If you tend to open your door to strangers, be especially vigilant. Indeed, the Ministry of the Interior specifies that these scammers “abuse their victims by stealing their property or by making them sign fictitious contracts in order to cash checks in return for non-existent services”. Those found guilty of this type of fraud are liable to five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros.

In recent days, a new ruse of “false quality” theft has been observed in the south of France and it could quickly spread to other regions… The Var police have just given the alert and put in beware of the method of scammers approaching you… With a glass of water. Follow our advice to avoid falling into their trap.

A silly pretext as cabbage. In recent days, residents of the city of Toulon have seen two individuals knock on their door, asking them for a glass of water to quench their thirst. As the Var National Police explains on Twitter, they are then invited to the home of an elderly person “to steal money from them”.

This ruse is indeed that of false quality, because the thugs are looking for every possible reason to walk through your door. In your great goodness, you are not suspicious of a person who simply asks you for a glass of water and you are very wrong. Indeed, these two thieves ask you for a glass of water so that you go to your kitchen for a few minutes, which they take advantage of to search your drawers in search of your tickets and your valuables. When you realize the deception, it is often too late.

Fortunately, there are simple ways to protect against “fake quality” theft. Here is the advice of the police to avoid falling into the trap of these two crooks.

On the website of the Ministry of the Interior, the National Police gives eight tips to avoid falling into the trap of the “false quality” scam. Here they are :