[Lickety Split]

My mum is a widow in her 70s living on her own. Her street is mostly older people living alone. She just rang me a bit worried because a young bloke had just knocked on her door and asked her if she had half an hours work for him as he needed $7 for a bus and didn't like to beg. She told him no politely and he left but it made her feel really vulnerable. Her house is quite exposed but it does have an alarm. I tried to reassure her but I know she'll be extremely anxious, worried if he was checking out the place to see if she lived alone etc. Is there anything I can do to make her feel safer?

This post has been edited by Lickety Split: 06/01/2013, 05:16 PM

[mitty82]

ring the police, you just never know and make them aware and they might take a drive around and have a chat to the fella

[WhimsicalDragonf...]

One tip I read somewhere once was to leave a pair of men's shoes at the entrance, like a pair of workboots or sturdy looking man shoes to give visitors the idea that there is someone else around the house.

If it happened again, your mum could along with her polite declining of the offer, add that her brother/nephew/son/cousin does odd jobs for her.

ETA - You could also get one of those wall buzzers/mobile buzzers that when pressed call emergency services straight away. There is a monthly fee. Not sure if you're mum would like that at this stage, but something to think about for the future maybe.

Hope your mum is feeling okay now.

This post has been edited by WhimsicalDragonfly: 06/01/2013, 04:20 PM

[****lisa****]

One tip I read somewhere once was to leave a pair of men's shoes at the entrance, like a pair of workboots or sturdy looking man shoes to give visitors the idea that there is someone else around the house.

An oldie but a goodie!

[Lickety Split]

One tip I read somewhere once was to leave a pair of men's shoes at the entrance, like a pair of workboots or sturdy looking man shoes to give visitors the idea that there is someone else around the house.

I did tell her this and she put a pair a dad's old gumboots near the front door

[november lily]

It doesn't do any harm to call the police if she feels the situation was suspicious. In our area people have been going to homes and asking about tree lopping work - they target elderly people, cut a few branches off a tree then demand thousands of dollars. They've even driven people to ATM's to get money. I know because the police told me this when I called them after a dodgy looking guy knocked on my door looking for work.

[*purple*]

I agree, call the police and report it...it may be nothing, but it may help them if there has been other reports made.

There has been a lot of break ins in our suburb that have occurred in broad daylight (commonly around lunchtime when everyone is at work). Someone knocks on the door and if there is an answer they just say they were looking for someone but had the wrong address...if no one answers they kick in the door and call their mate who is waiting around the corner with a ute.

I'm not saying this is the case in your mum's situation, but if it is, it may help the police to get a description of the man

[LambChop]

Does she live near a bus stop at all ?

I'm just wondering what exactly she is going to say to the police in terms of what the issue was exactly other than unexpected ?

[AntiBourgeoisie]

Maybe the guy was actually a good bloke and being honest?
I'm not suggesting she doesn't take precautions, or that she is silly for for feeling vulnerable. But it IS possible he was a hard at luck guy trying to do the right thing.

[*melrose*]

Call the police!