Thefts from the homes of five elderly people by robbers pretending to offer health services began back in February before the coronavirus outbreak but have been “facilitated” because vulnerable people are now alone at home, the police have said.

Inspector Jonathan Ransley, who investigated the robberies and cracked the cases, said the more recent of these thefts, targeting the elderly, would have been eased by the COVID-19 scenario. The thieves could get away with wearing surgical masks and be unrecognisable.

“We are talking about criminal minds here, who will always adapt their modus operandi and take advantage of what is going on in the country,” the inspector said, adding that this was why the police have increased street patrols.

Crimes in which thieves pose as service providers to enter people’s homes and steal are nothing new and have not risen during this period of quarantine, he said, even taking into account other similar cases that were not reported to the police.

“I managed to convince one elderly man by speaking to him personally. He discussed it with his relatives, who then filed a report in his name. But another woman refused at all costs due to fear of revenge,” he said, adding that the police learnt about these cases through information from the accused.

Inspector Ransley said the fact that the cases were all solved sent an important message of zero tolerance towards this kind of behaviour.

It is imperative to look out of the window first, ask for identification and make the necessary calls

“We dropped everything to tackle them straightaway and get to the bottom of these crimes fast in order to nip them in the bud and send out this message,” he said. Of the female duo, both with drug problems, who have now been arraigned, one worked with a company that offered health services and had the inside information to know who to target and where they lived.

They allegedly entered the homes under the pretence that they could help with cleaning and shopping and “pretended to care”.

The problem, Inspector Ransley said, was that the elderly listened, but did not take precautions, and this was probably down to hard-headedness and because they were set in their ways.

“They still hear a knock on the door and open,” he said, insisting that they must ask who it is and then make the necessary calls to verify.

“Even if they are police, call the depot and check,” he continued, saying these cases were constantly being encountered.

“Everyone needs to be careful, but even more so the elderly because they are now alone. They are a target. This is why it is imperative to look out of the window first, ask for identification and make the necessary calls, long-winded as this may seem,” Inspector Ransley insisted.

“Generally, if you tell someone who is pretending to be someone else that you are checking on them, they will find an excuse and leave.”

Inspector Ransley said the robberies of the elderly mainly involved jewellery – small items that could be put in pockets and would be enough to get the drug addicts through another day.

“We appeal to relatives of the elderly to help us get our message through and literally brainwash them not to open their front doors,” he urged.

“If anything is not the same as usual, they need to be suspicious and check.”

Delivery NGO seeks to build trust

A support initiative delivering food and medicine to elderly and vulnerable users is discussing verification methods to ensure trust between users and volunteers.

Invisible Hands Malta said it wanted to roll out volunteer reviews, ID card vetting and mobile phone SMS messaging in order to verify the identities of volunteers and protect elderly and vulnerable users from being robbed.

“We’re also discussing verification code-words that only the users and the volunteers will share,” said the organiser, Daniel Goebel

“That should reassure the person at home that the individual outside their door is the one who should be there.”

The initiative has been running for almost two weeks and has so far made 30 deliveries of food or medicine primarily to foreign expats and individuals unable to leave their homes during quarantine. Five of the deliveries were made to elderly users.

The initiative is also trying to build a name among the elderly through a leafleting campaign.

“We have a Facebook marketing campaign but we’re struggling to reach the elderly,” Goebel said.