Word to the wise on dodgy doorknock

WHEN Evelyn Pride opened the door to a man with a clipboard saying he had been sent to Orange to help “handicapped kids”, his choice of words immediately made her suspicious.

“I’ve been on this planet 67 years and ‘handicap’ was the word used when I was growing up,” she said.

“For years it’s been ‘disabled’, which sounds heaps better than ‘you’ve got a handicapped kid’.”

The man told Ms Pride he was from Brazil and had been sent to Orange to collect for a charity, but had no identification to back his claims.

“I said ‘sorry mate I’m on a pension’,” she said.

Ms Pride became even more concerned when the man asked for her bank account details so they could take money from her account electronically.

“He said ‘we don’t take money that’s illegal’,” she said.

“But nobody gets my bank account.

“That’s what made the lights switch on.”

Ms Pride rang the police after the man left her house and was told they would circulate the description of the man.

Another man, also door-knocking with the man, told Ms Pride’s neighbour he was working with a cerebral palsy organisation.

“They could be legit, but I rang Anson Street School and they know nothing about it,” she said.

“They said if they want any fundraising they do it themselves.”

Ms Pride also rang Orange City Council, who were unaware of any charity collection.

The experience has left Ms Pride feeling angry.

“I was angry at the way he approached and the way he said ‘handicapped kids’,” she said.

“That’s not the word we use anymore.”

Canobolas Local Area Command Inspector Dave Harvey said residents should challenge charity door-knockers and ask them who they work for if they have any suspicions.

“Check their ID and if they haven’t got any ID contact the police,” he said.

“Don’t let them in the house and check the legitimacy of their reason for being there.”

clare.colley@ruralpress.com