Dutch police hunt 'Irish scammers' who forced man to pay €550 to wash his walls

Police in the Netherlands have warned locals to be careful of a group of Irish scammers who swindled €550 from a Dutch pensioner for power washing his house.

Dutch police in the suburb of east Amstelland south of Amsterdam took to social media last friday to warn other residents to be wary of accepting on-the-spot service offers from Irish gangs after they scammed multiple pensioners in the area. “You may have already encountered them,” the police in the suburb of east Amstelland south of Amsterdam said on Facebook.

The police warned on Facebook of "English-speaking handymen" calling door-to-door, offering services such as cleaning driveways, painting, and gutter repairs. Police also said that the scammers "often have simple brochures, usually do not use quotes and they often speak English with an Irish accent."

According to the Dutch police, "after performing these services, they ask for an unreasonable amount and do not hesitate to threaten you if you do not want to pay the amount.”

The alert was published following reports that a local 67-year-old man Theo came forward to say he had been intimidated into giving five Irish scammers €550, following threats of damage to his moped. The man, who lives in nearby Nieuw-Sloten told cops that five Irishmen called to his door three weeks ago.

Theo said the group claimed to be cleaning driveways and houses in the area and offered to do his house. "They said they were working in the area and still had stuff left to work on," Theo said. "They all had a professional installation, ladders and a pump with them.

The pensioner agreed to accept their work but enquired about the price. “It all went very quickly, but they said that they were willing to do it for ten euros per square metre".

The men got to work, and once they were finished knocked on the victim's door and demanded a payment of a whopping €550, a much higher price than their initial offer of €10 per metre. Theo was shocked and queried the price – and said the Irishmen started to intimidate him.

"They kept talking about my scooter and whether I was afraid it would be set on fire", the victim said. 

Other locals have claimed to have had similar run ins with the group, and local Police have now urged homeowners in the area to ring 112 if the Irish gang approaches them.