State Duma Deputy Ilya Volfson warned about the growth of fraud under the guise of housing and communal services employees

MOSCOW, September 27 - RIA Novosti. Fraudsters often act under the guise of housing and communal services employees, especially on holidays and in relation to older people, so it is important for residents to check documents and not open the door to strangers who show up without warning, State Duma deputy Ilya Volfson told RIA Novosti.

“Management companies should more actively inform residents about planned inspections - through announcements at entrances, in house chats, on official websites. Employees should carry a standard identification card so that the resident can make sure that this is a representative of the management organization, and not an outsider,” said Wolfson.

According to him, if uninvited guests behave aggressively or refuse to present documents, the police must be called. The deputy noted that the calculation is based on understandable psychology: in the housing and communal services sector, citizens are accustomed to the fact that they can come to them with an inspection, and do not always require documents.

“Elderly people are a special risk category. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, pensioners remain one of the most vulnerable categories of victims of fraud. This is not an accident, but a conscious choice of criminals. False utility companies are deliberately looking for lonely elderly citizens,” said Wolfson.

He emphasized that it is objectively more difficult for an elderly person to check the presented documents, call the management company, find information on the Internet, and this is exactly what scammers are counting on.

“Separately, it should be said about periods of increased activity. Holidays for such groups are the time of the most intense work. On the New Year and May holidays, the number of attempts at fraud under the guise of housing and communal services employees increases noticeably,” the parliamentarian added.

According to Wolfson, the reason is obvious: people are at home more often, and the festive atmosphere reduces vigilance, and scammers act persistently - they conduct door-to-door visits, send out fake notifications on behalf of management organizations, and call landline phones.

“A sudden visit by a utility worker on a holiday should be treated with caution: scheduled inspections are usually carried out according to a pre-agreed schedule, and a resident has the right to clarify the visit with the management company, HOA or resource supply organization. In the absence of an accident or prior notification, it is better not to open the door to a stranger on a holiday,” he advised.

The deputy also spoke about a characteristic feature that allows one to distinguish a real employee from a fraudster: employees of official service organizations do not visit apartments without prior notification of a scheduled inspection - this is sent through the management company or HOA.