Police warn public against opening door to strangers

Police have urged Wairarapa people, especially older people who live alone, to check the credentials of surprise callers before opening the door to them.
The warning comes after a woman living in rural Masterton phoned Wairarapa Times-Age reporters attempting to determine whether a man who arrived at her door last Sunday was conducting a legitimate survey, or casing her property with criminal intent.
She said she had been taking a nap in mid-afternoon when she heard a knock at her door and on opening it was confronted by a man aged in his 30s who claimed he was doing a health survey.
The woman, aged 66, said he had not offered any identification, had not given his name and had not clearly identified the company he was working for.
"I asked him if he was with the health department but he just said he was doing a survey on health issues.
"He had a laptop computer and asked for my name and whether I lived alone.
"Foolishly I told him my initials and confirmed I lived on my own.
"He keyed those details straight into his computer and I could see he had a list of other names on it.
"Then he told me I wasn't eligible to answer the survey and left."
The woman said she had been still half-asleep when she went to the door but had realised soon after the man's departure that she should not have given him any information as he had not given her proper identification or details of what he was doing.
"When I got back inside I thought about the burglaries they have been having in Greytown and Carterton and, because I live in a rural area, I started to worry that my place was being targeted."
She said the caller was caucasian aged in his 30s and had been dressed in smart casual clothing with a coat.
He had quickly left her property but, due to the curvature of her driveway, she had been unable to determine what sort of vehicle he had driven away in, or whether there had been others waiting in a car outside her gate.
The woman said she had no problem with the information she had given being passed on to police as she had weighed up the idea of phoning police and reporting the incident anyway.
Masterton police area controller Inspector John Johnston said there had not been other complaints from the area in which the woman lives.
"But the first thing anyone should do before opening the door to someone they don't know is to get them to properly identify themselves. Only when you are satisfied of the callers credentials should you open the door to them."
Mr Johnston said doors should be fitted with safety chains, especially if people are living alone, and homes made secure.
"What has followed on from the burglaries we have been having is that many houses were left unlocked or cars left unlocked with the keys in them.
"There have been very few actual break-ins."
Mr Johnston said people carrying out legitimate surveys could spare themselves problems too. "If you are going to be working in a particular area on the weekend, ring the police and tell us."