The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Children in brazen Christmas lights con
Warning after locals duped by fake town fundraiser
Brazen youngsters have been duping north-east residents into parting with their cash by claiming they are raising money for Christmas lights.
The children, who it was claimed were once accompanied by an adult, have been knocking on doors in Peterhead and selling calendars containing pictures of kittens and other animals.
They told residents that the money would go towards brightening up the town over the festive period.
But the scam was
“Disappointing that people would feel the need to do this”
exposed when some of the children visited the home of a member of the Light Up Peterhead committee.
The organisers have now issued a warning for people not to be taken in by the swindle.
Chairwoman of the committee, Jackie Matthew, said: “I was made aware that this was going on by another committee member when children knocked on her door trying to sell calendars.
“This is the first instance we’ve heard of something like this happening.
“When she asked them what they were raising money for, and they
mentioned Christmas decorations for the tree in Peterhead, she said that couldn’t be the case because she was on the committee and would know about it.
“After she said that, the children ran away.”
Mrs Matthews took
to social media to warn others, and says she has since learned of more incidents.
Some people have reported seeing the doorto-door scam in nearby villages like Longside and Boddam.
She added: “We have
received several messages from people coming forward about similar instances happening to them.
“One person even mentioned an adult accompanied the children to their doorstep, and ran away leaving the children
there when they were confronted.”
Peterhead North and Rattray councillor, Dianne Beagrie, who is on the Light Up Peterhead committee, said: “It’s disappointing that people would feel the need to do this. The committee works very hard
to raise funds for the event and we hope that this does not happen again.
“As soon as we were told, we notified the police and shared a post on the Facebook page to let the public know.”
Light Up Day is on Saturday November 23.