Police are issuing a warning to residents across the district to keep an eye out for their neighbours as the season for rogue traders begins.
This week, in Epping Forest, police are out and about trying to give crime prevention advice to people living in the district who they feel may be targeted by con men.
Rogue traders and cold callers are often out in the nicer weather, claiming that they have spotted dangerous features on houses, scaring people into having unnecessary repairs done.
Advice being given includes never paying the full amount before work is complete, always checking at least three references for workers and always locking your back door if you are speaking at the front.
Police are also asking people to remind elderly and vulnerable neighbours not to let people in who claim to be from gas or water boards, as they do not exist anymore.
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