0:00:02 > 0:00:03We're following your success stories
0:00:03 > 0:00:07of fighting back against doorstep crimes, rip-off rogue traders,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11cold-calling con men, you name it, we're all united against them.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14What's more, we're celebrating the work of award-winning police
0:00:14 > 0:00:16and Trading Standards teams.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20With your invaluable help, we've been busy spreading the message
0:00:20 > 0:00:22that these crooks must be stopped!
0:00:23 > 0:00:27Today, I discover more about the astonishing and audacious
0:00:27 > 0:00:32charity bag scams, which target good causes and unsuspecting consumers.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau have estimated
0:00:35 > 0:00:38- there's about £50 million worth of scamming going on.- 50 million?
0:00:38 > 0:00:41£50 million, yes.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43The extraordinary doorstep art scam
0:00:43 > 0:00:46that bit deeply into the pockets of homeowners in Northampton.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50I was ripped off on my own doorstep by somebody purporting to be
0:00:50 > 0:00:52something that they weren't.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Plus the victims of a heartless gang in Essex,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57ripped off to the tune of £150,000.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Rest assured, the crooks get their just deserts!
0:01:00 > 0:01:04They're predators and they're preying on the weak and elderly
0:01:04 > 0:01:10and taking advantage of someone who's unable to defend themselves.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20It's a sad fact that there is no scam or trick too low
0:01:20 > 0:01:24for some doorstep crooks, even the theft of charity bags.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27But it's also heartening to meet people who won't stand for it,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and show great tenacity in fighting back!
0:01:33 > 0:01:36We've probably all received leaflets like this through our letterboxes,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40from charities asking us to put out unwanted clothes and toys,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43to be collected and sold to raise money.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Bag collections like these provide a crucial source of funding
0:01:47 > 0:01:48to hundreds of good causes,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51for instance, the Midlands Air Ambulance.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56We need to raise over £6.5 million each year
0:01:56 > 0:02:00to keep our three air ambulance helicopters operational.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02We're reliant on the goodwill of the people
0:02:02 > 0:02:06and have been for the last 21 years.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11In 2010, the charity discovered that criminals will stop at nothing
0:02:11 > 0:02:13in order to make a profit.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17About two years ago,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21the charity were receiving a number of calls from the public
0:02:21 > 0:02:25asking whether certain bags were supporting the air ambulance.
0:02:25 > 0:02:31These bags were named Air Ambulance Service, Air Ambulance Support,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35all alluding to say they were supporting and giving donations
0:02:35 > 0:02:38to their local air ambulance, Midlands Air Ambulance,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41none of which were.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Guess what?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46A gang had distributed their own mock charity bags.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49They were collecting items that residents thought
0:02:49 > 0:02:52they were donating in support of the local emergency service.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57The charity would normally raise over £200,000 a year
0:02:57 > 0:02:59from clothing recycling.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04The first year, our donations dropped by nearly 70%.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08That's a whopping £140,000 of potential funds,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11diverted towards doorstep criminals.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Not only were the ... collectors collecting their own bags,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18they were collecting our charity bags and other charity bags,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22affecting not only us, but every other charity raising funds
0:03:22 > 0:03:23through this method,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26costing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pounds.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Unfortunately, what happened to the air ambulance charity
0:03:30 > 0:03:32was not an isolated incident.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36We've had many communications from you from all over the country
0:03:36 > 0:03:38about other charity bag scams.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Warren Alexander, from the Charity Retail Association,
0:03:42 > 0:03:43believes doorstep crime
0:03:43 > 0:03:47has a devastating impact on charity fundraising in the UK.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50How does the scheme work?
0:03:50 > 0:03:52It's very simple.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55They pretend to be charities, they print up bags that look
0:03:55 > 0:03:57as though they might be from charities,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00they distribute them across the streets where they're collecting
0:04:00 > 0:04:02and then go around days later and pick them up.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06But they're also picking up bags that belong to legitimate,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09legal, decent charities.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12How much money are the charities being done out of?
0:04:12 > 0:04:15It's very difficult to estimate what you haven't got,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18but the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau have estimated
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- there's about £50 million worth of scamming going on.- 50 million?
0:04:21 > 0:04:23£50 million, yes.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28That is extraordinary and shocking. I'm not the only one who thinks so.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31One day, this brave lady, Ingrid, from Wolverhampton,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34decided that enough was enough.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Well, I just told them off, I really did.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41I told them if they want any money, go and earn it like everybody else.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43Later, we find out how she stood up to them
0:04:43 > 0:04:48and how the authorities deal out punishments to bag scammers.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Plus one of the more unusual doorstep cons we've seen,
0:04:53 > 0:04:57as the residents of Northamptonshire face up to a sneaky art swindle.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01I'll never buy off the doorstep again
0:05:01 > 0:05:07because you're not always 100% sure that people are saying who they are.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Let's now consider a more traumatic kind of doorstep crime.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19We're at Basildon Crown Court in Spring 2012.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Take a look at this charmer, Chris Barnes.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23Along with five other crooks,
0:05:23 > 0:05:29he conned two elderly victims out of more than £150,000
0:05:29 > 0:05:31then blew it all on a life of luxury.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34But their crooked spree has come to an end.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37This is the day we find out what sentences Christopher Barnes
0:05:37 > 0:05:39and his associates will get.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41This is the culmination of an investigation
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- that started almost two years ago. - Let's go back a little in time.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52The victims of these crimes were too traumatised to share their stories.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56But the authorities believe we can learn a lesson from the crooks'
0:05:56 > 0:05:58disreputable acts.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Invariably they'll try and befriend the victim
0:06:02 > 0:06:05so they'll appear to want to help the victim
0:06:05 > 0:06:08and ask them if they need any help with gardening work
0:06:08 > 0:06:10or house maintenance work and so on.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15That's how the relationship can start but it can turn very nasty
0:06:15 > 0:06:20and they will target people that they think are vulnerable to being duped
0:06:20 > 0:06:21and who will have assets.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26Essex Police began their investigation following a tip-off.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28The anonymous caller was concerned
0:06:28 > 0:06:31that his elderly and housebound neighbour was being ripped off.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36We went to see the lady and she told us that she had indeed
0:06:36 > 0:06:40had some minor building and gardening work done,
0:06:40 > 0:06:46by what on first glance appeared to be quite a reputable firm
0:06:46 > 0:06:48called Chris Landscaping Ltd.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Chris Landscaping Ltd is not to be confused
0:06:51 > 0:06:54with other reputable businesses of a similar name.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Despite their frequent visits,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59the gang appeared to have done very little work at her home.
0:06:59 > 0:07:06Chris Barnes used some very cunning tactics to manipulate this lady.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Chris Barnes has some young children.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12He took these children to the old lady's address.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16She thought it was lovely that she had some company,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18she thought it nice to see these children
0:07:18 > 0:07:22and she considered Chris Barnes to be her friend.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24All the time this was happening,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28he was carrying out very poor-quality work or little or no work
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and taking large sums of money from her.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35In total, this lady had written them out nine cheques
0:07:35 > 0:07:40to a value of £42,700.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44Nearly 43 grand, for work valued at less than ten grand?
0:07:44 > 0:07:46How dreadful!
0:07:46 > 0:07:50It must have been a shock for her, to be conned out of a small fortune
0:07:50 > 0:07:53by people who appeared to be her friends.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57I think that in my experience, this is probably one of the most
0:07:57 > 0:07:59insidious types of crime that we have experienced.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03The victims tend to be vulnerable, often living on their own
0:08:03 > 0:08:06and often very elderly and it's quite shocking to think
0:08:06 > 0:08:08that there are people out there
0:08:08 > 0:08:11who are prepared to take away those people's life savings
0:08:11 > 0:08:14and have really no regard for the consequences of that.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Then the police investigation into the gang's accounts
0:08:18 > 0:08:21revealed a second victim.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25This man was 73 years old, he was also housebound,
0:08:25 > 0:08:31he was disabled and hadn't left his home for, again, five or six years.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34He also had never been married, he didn't have any children,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37and apart from a couple of neighbours around the corner
0:08:37 > 0:08:41who helped him with his shopping, he also didn't have any visitors.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46This gang befriended him in much the same way as they had the old lady.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50They also took advantage of the fact that he was housebound.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54What they would do with him, is they would knock on his door
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and they would tell him that they had done work in his garden,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01they'd trimmed hedges, they'd mowed his lawn.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06He was unable to check, to see if this work had been done.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11These cons took place over six years from 2005 to 2011
0:09:11 > 0:09:16and the crooks certainly took their time extracting the victims' cash.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Two neighbours in particular came forward
0:09:20 > 0:09:26and said that they had seen people slapping on what looked like water
0:09:26 > 0:09:32onto his fence in an effort to look like they were varnishing it.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36This helpless man paid them a king's ransom,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40for their poor-quality and often non-existent work.
0:09:40 > 0:09:46In the end, he wrote out a total of 67 cheques over five years
0:09:46 > 0:09:53and these 67 cheques added up to £112,900, I believe it was.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I don't think he realised the full extent
0:09:58 > 0:10:01of the amount of money he'd given over in the end.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Over £112,000.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10Surveyors later valued these small jobs at just over £7,000.
0:10:10 > 0:10:16The financial impact where somebody loses £100,000 or £150,000 or more
0:10:16 > 0:10:19can be absolutely catastrophic, obviously.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23We've many examples of people who have lost their life savings
0:10:23 > 0:10:27to these doorstep rogue traders and they will literally bleed them dry
0:10:27 > 0:10:29of every savings they've got.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33The gang went to every effort to bleed their victims dry.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38As a consequence, they lead a very comfortable life.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41The main thing that struck us
0:10:41 > 0:10:46when we saw the way that Chris Barnes lived in particular
0:10:46 > 0:10:49was the lifestyle he was leading.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51He had no mortgage on his home,
0:10:51 > 0:10:56his home was decorated to a very high standard, expensive furniture,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59he had a fleet of four cars outside his home address,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02he had stables at the bottom of his garden.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Their high-living days are at an end,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08now that these rotters have felt the full force of the law.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11At Basildon Crown Court in March 2012,
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Christopher Barnes, Daniel Chuter, Allan Logan and William Brazil
0:11:16 > 0:11:19all received custodial prison sentences.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22The other two gang members were given suspended sentences.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28It's very rewarding to see the fruition of our teams' hard work.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33A lot of officers spent a lot of time working on this case
0:11:33 > 0:11:39and it's very satisfying to see men who've committed a despicable crime
0:11:39 > 0:11:42being sent to prison for the awful things they've done
0:11:42 > 0:11:44to these old people.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47We're looking to get money back from Chris Barnes,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51we've put restraining orders on his property and on his bank accounts.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53We're hoping to take money from him
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and give it back to the victims of this crime.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59A promising result for Essex Police.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05As always, thank you for your letters and emails.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Martin from Staffordshire has written to say
0:12:07 > 0:12:10that he once had a cold-caller who tried to persuade him
0:12:10 > 0:12:12to change his energy supplier.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16The excuse was that his existing supplier had gone overseas
0:12:16 > 0:12:18and payments were not getting through.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Martin knew this was nonsense because it turned out
0:12:21 > 0:12:24the caller didn't know which energy company he was with,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26in other words, a chancer.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29So it always pays to ask searching questions.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Thank you for that reminder, Martin.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Now, let's catch up with our charity bags investigation.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41Snaffling our charity bag donations has enabled gangs of doorstep crooks
0:12:41 > 0:12:44to con us, and what's more, dozens of our charities
0:12:44 > 0:12:47out of £50 million every year.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51But this brave 74-year-old from Wolverhampton
0:12:51 > 0:12:53wanted to take a stand.
0:12:54 > 0:13:01I've been putting charity bags out for at least five years
0:13:01 > 0:13:03and never had any problems.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07I saw this van pulling up
0:13:07 > 0:13:11and it picked the charity bags up and I thought to myself,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15if it's for Great Ormond Street,
0:13:15 > 0:13:20they usually have it written all over their van.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24But this van was completely... There was no writing, it was blank.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27I thought there's something funny going on here.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31So I got in my car and went looking for them
0:13:31 > 0:13:35and I found them loading bags up further down
0:13:35 > 0:13:37in one of the side streets.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42I knocked on the window and I told them, "I want the bag back".
0:13:42 > 0:13:48They looked at me like they didn't understand what I was saying.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53I think I could have hit them really but I didn't, that's too far.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55I just told them off, I really did.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00I told them if they want any money, go and earn it like everybody else.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Good old Ingrid didn't stop there.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07She ordered the rogues to load the bags into the boot of her car,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10so that genuine charity collectors could pick them up from her house.
0:14:11 > 0:14:18I would advise people to keep an eye open for them on the doorstep
0:14:18 > 0:14:24and have a go at them, because if people have a go at them
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and stop them, they ain't going to come again, are they?
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Now, what of the rogues in the West Midlands,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36who took clothes from homeowners intended for the Air Ambulance?
0:14:36 > 0:14:40It lost the charity over £140,000 in funding.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44An investigation led by the Government's Insolvency Service
0:14:44 > 0:14:48revealed that one Anthony Durkin was behind the companies responsible.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51David Hill was in charge of the case.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Mr Durkin admitted to us
0:14:54 > 0:14:57that no donations had been made to any charity
0:14:57 > 0:15:02and all the money the company used, as he put it, in operational costs.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06We were told that the clothing was collected in containers
0:15:06 > 0:15:09and transported to Poland
0:15:09 > 0:15:12where the proceeds from that, we just couldn't establish what had happened,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14the money has gone, essentially.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16As a result of that,
0:15:16 > 0:15:19we petitioned to wind the company up in the High Court
0:15:19 > 0:15:21which would have the effect of closing it down
0:15:21 > 0:15:25and the company was wound up on 2nd November 2011.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26With the company shut down,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Trading Standards mounted their own case against Anthony Durkin.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33On the 2nd December 2011,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36the charity bag crook pleaded guilty to nine offences
0:15:36 > 0:15:40under the consumer protection law at Bracknell Magistrates' Court.
0:15:40 > 0:15:47He was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £5,735.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Since then, we've actually seen, without them being out there,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53a significant increase in clothing recycling again
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and we're recovering some of the revenues that have affected us
0:15:57 > 0:16:00and also other charities nationally.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Warren Alexander from the Charity Retail Association
0:16:03 > 0:16:07has excellent tips for those who want to make sure our donations
0:16:07 > 0:16:10reach the good causes that need them.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13The thing to check for is that it's a charity name you recognise
0:16:13 > 0:16:15and is that name and not something similar.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18The second thing is to look for a charity registration number
0:16:18 > 0:16:23on the bag and to check that number with the Charity Commission,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25because the name and the number should match.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28If you're at all suspicious, phone up the charity
0:16:28 > 0:16:30and make sure they've got a collection in your area.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33It's excellent to see the law catching up with the crooks
0:16:33 > 0:16:37and our thanks to Midlands Air Ambulance and Ingrid,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39for sharing their stories with us.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Here's another example of doorstep crime.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Hello, Gloria. My name's Lynn Munt.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51I was conned a couple of years ago on my doorstep
0:16:51 > 0:16:55by somebody purporting to sell me paintings
0:16:55 > 0:16:57which turned out to be fake.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01I want to tell you my story to stop this happening to somebody else.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05That certainly sounds interesting. Now, on further investigation,
0:17:05 > 0:17:09it turns out that roughly 30 victims fell for this art scam
0:17:09 > 0:17:12and we wanted to get beneath the oil and canvas, as it were,
0:17:12 > 0:17:17to find out exactly what was going on.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19In 2009, residents of Northamptonshire
0:17:19 > 0:17:21were targeted by doorstep crime.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Instead of the old trick
0:17:23 > 0:17:26of posing as police officers or water board officials,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30the rogues elevated their confidence tricks into an art form.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34The technique the gang used
0:17:34 > 0:17:39was to call at residential houses like these,
0:17:39 > 0:17:44at the weekend, Sundays or evening time,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46knocking on people's doors
0:17:46 > 0:17:52and presenting themselves as art students who originated from Israel.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55They would carry canvases like this
0:17:55 > 0:17:58and show them to the person who answered the door.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02These canvases contained art which these so-called students
0:18:02 > 0:18:05claimed to have painted themselves.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08But not everything was as it seemed, as Lynne Munt discovered
0:18:08 > 0:18:11when she came face to face with the crooks.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16There was a knock on the door and there was a young girl.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19She showed me a portfolio of paintings
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and said they weren't just hers, they were by other students as well.
0:18:22 > 0:18:28I had a look through them, my husband had a look and we discussed price.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31After taking a good look at the paintings on offer,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Lynne and her husband decided to buy three.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37They agreed a price of £235.
0:18:37 > 0:18:38I'm not an art expert,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42I do know what I like and I liked the look of the paintings
0:18:42 > 0:18:48which is why we decided to buy them and pay what we did for them.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53£235 for three paintings doesn't sound too bad.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57But thanks to the Trading Standards investigation,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Lynne has found out that they were in fact cheaply imported paintings
0:19:01 > 0:19:04which the bogus students were passing off as their own work.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Since then, she's given two of them away
0:19:06 > 0:19:09and keeps the remaining one out of sight.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11I don't like to keep the painting on show.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14I can't bring myself to even get it framed,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18for the reason that it makes me feel so gutted about the whole story.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22I keep it in the cupboard all the time.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26And that's the painting.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29The paintings looked genuine to me
0:19:29 > 0:19:32because of the fabric that they're painted on
0:19:32 > 0:19:38and the actual texture of the painting, it's like brush strokes
0:19:38 > 0:19:43and it just looks real because of the texture.
0:19:43 > 0:19:50Every time I look at the painting, I remember that I was ripped off
0:19:50 > 0:19:54on my doorstep by somebody purporting to be something that they weren't.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59The paintings looked pretty convincing to us too,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01so we took them to an art expert, Neil Duguid,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04to find out exactly what Lynne had got for her money.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07OK, the first thing that comes to my attention
0:20:07 > 0:20:10is that it's not a canvas, it's nylon
0:20:10 > 0:20:16and it's quite plasticky which is indicative of mass-produced fare.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Opening it, I can see it's quite an attractive floral picture,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24but it's very formulaic.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27It's probably painted by two or three people.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31One person will have the red paint, one will have the yellow paint,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34another person will have the green and in a conveyor,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37one will do a little bit here, another will do a bit there.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41At the end of the day, you get quite an attractive picture,
0:20:41 > 0:20:45but it's not by one specific artist, I wouldn't have thought.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50So much for this being the work of a hard-up art student.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54But Lynne paid £235 for this and two other paintings.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Have they any value?
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Yes, I guess so.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01If you liked the picture enough and you thought it was worth that,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05not everybody is an art valuer and not everybody knows the pitfalls.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10If someone brought this to me and asked me the value of it,
0:21:10 > 0:21:15I'd say it's got decorative value but no actual monetary value.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17It's the kind of thing we see quite regularly
0:21:17 > 0:21:22where people have been abroad on holiday and brought back mementos.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26They're the kind of thing you'd expect to pay very little for
0:21:26 > 0:21:29in the country that it was made.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32In fact, these pictures were painted in China.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35They can be ordered over the internet and, including shipping,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38cost around £18.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43A far cry from the £70 those bogus students were charging.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Here are some more examples of the art in this doorstep fraud case,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48seized by Northampton Trading Standards.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51We were keen to find out what you think of them
0:21:51 > 0:21:55and whether you would be taken in by the high prices.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57I think it's quite nice, I like the colours.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00It's a good painting, it's got texture.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05It's very colourful, very expressive, quite fun as well.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08So how much do you think they're worth?
0:22:10 > 0:22:11About £30.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13No more than a couple of quid.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16£200-£700.
0:22:16 > 0:22:17How much?!
0:22:17 > 0:22:22When we revealed that these pictures can be picked up for just over £18,
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and yet people had been charged around £65, you were astonished.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Wow, that's a rip-off!
0:22:29 > 0:22:30I think it is daylight robbery.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Yeah, they're being ripped off if they're paying that price for it.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39How did Northampton Trading Standards
0:22:39 > 0:22:41discover this doorstep crime?
0:22:41 > 0:22:43It was all thanks to a local businessman,
0:22:43 > 0:22:48who thought he'd found the perfect deal when he spent £250
0:22:48 > 0:22:50on five paintings.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53He decided not to discuss his purchases with us on camera,
0:22:53 > 0:22:58but Ian Smith remembers his story very well.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02He bought some paintings from a chap and when he left,
0:23:02 > 0:23:07he thought there was something not quite right,
0:23:07 > 0:23:12so went online to find out a bit more about the sellers.
0:23:12 > 0:23:20While online, he found a website that belonged to a Chinese wholesaler
0:23:20 > 0:23:22and while looking at this site,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25he recognised some of the pictures he'd been shown that evening.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29The victim was angry and disappointed
0:23:29 > 0:23:36in that he'd bought something that he had understood to be one thing,
0:23:36 > 0:23:41the artwork of a charming individual he'd invited into his house,
0:23:41 > 0:23:46when in fact he'd discovered it was a mass-produced piece of artwork
0:23:46 > 0:23:51that could be bought by anybody from a website in China.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Trading Standards mounted an undercover operation,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57to catch this gang of crooks in the act.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00One of the things that had been handed to the victim
0:24:00 > 0:24:04was a telephone number for a chap who could frame pictures.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Ian asked the customer to arrange a meeting with the picture framer.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11When he arrived expecting to secure some work,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14he was greeted instead by Ian and the police.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18It seemed as if he'd been in league with the dodgy art gang.
0:24:18 > 0:24:23Once the police had arrived, I searched his car,
0:24:23 > 0:24:29found records in his car that related to other jobs he had to do
0:24:29 > 0:24:32in relation to framing pictures.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37I contacted a number of people that were listed there
0:24:37 > 0:24:42and these people had, not surprisingly, also been visited
0:24:42 > 0:24:45by persons purporting to be art students.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Some of them were female and some were male,
0:24:49 > 0:24:54so clearly there's more than just the one chap at it.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58If these bogus students had managed to scam £250
0:24:58 > 0:25:03off each of those other victims, the scam could well have made them
0:25:03 > 0:25:07thousands of pounds, simply by targeting good-natured residents.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Without enough evidence to charge him,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12the framer was released with a caution.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15The gang selling the paintings are still at large
0:25:15 > 0:25:18but Ian has words of caution for anyone who finds themselves
0:25:18 > 0:25:21being offered a deal too good to be true.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25My advice would be, if you do find somebody on your doorstep offering
0:25:25 > 0:25:31to sell you artwork like this, would be, do you know this person?
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Are you likely to see them again should there be a problem?
0:25:34 > 0:25:38You might want to know a little bit more about the people selling to you,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41what their name is, what their address might be,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45some sort of ID would be a good idea.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50But generally speaking, I would advise not to buy at the door,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53because if you do get a problem and you do part with money
0:25:53 > 0:25:55to a doorstep seller,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57you may find it very, very hard to catch up with them.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Clearly these frauds can be committed in many guises.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05We should never take anything we're sold on the doorstep at face value.
0:26:09 > 0:26:15Before we go, Ann Humphries of North Wales sent us various examples
0:26:15 > 0:26:17of cold-caller patter she's heard over the years
0:26:17 > 0:26:20which made her alarm bells ring.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25For example, being told that she has to act fast to get an amazing deal,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29being told you can pay whatever way you want, cash, cheque or both.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32And number one hate, being called love.
0:26:32 > 0:26:33Nobody likes being patronised!
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Thank you, Ann, for sending those details.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38The purpose of this programme is to fight back
0:26:38 > 0:26:40against doorstep criminals
0:26:40 > 0:26:45and we'd love to hear more about how you've stopped them ripping you off.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50You can find all the details about how to reach us at bbc.co.uk.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52May I say, thank you very much for your company,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56I hope you join us again next time. From all of us, bye-bye.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd