RECENTLY a quick-thinking resident of Daisy Bank Estate in Korumburra alerted others to the suspicious behaviour of a man claiming to be from the South Gippsland Shire Council.
A male in his thirties knocked on Kylee Pattinsons’ front door saying he was from the South Gippsland Shire Council, which her husband answered.
The man presented what appeared to be a fake identification badge with an imitation logo and requested access to their property.
Alarm bells went off for Kylee’s husband, as it was the weekend and they knew that council staff wouldn’t usually come to their home without pre-arranging via letter and phone call.
Kylee’s husband asked the man which department he was from, to which the man responded Customer Service, which he knew to be untrue and strongly advised the man to leave the property, stating he would call the police.
“The person left the property, heading towards Romano Way, getting into an older model white ute, with a driver waiting for him,” Kylee stated, recounting her husband’s experience.
“It makes me concerned for vulnerable people who may believe the stranger is from council, and let them in,” she stated, and soon after the incident posted details of the encounter to the Korumburra Community noticeboard Facebook page:
“Not sure if anyone else has had this happen today but posting on here to advise so that if someone does visit your property saying they are from SGSC, I would encourage you to contact the office to confirm before letting anyone enter your home, because they do not usually just turn up at your door, particularly on the weekend.”
The South Gippsland Shire Council confirmed they had been notified of such reports and confirmed the visits in question were not undertaken or authorised by Council.
Council also stated that: There are occasional times when Council Officers may knock on doors (this could range from responding to an animal matter or an urgent infrastructure issue) however identification will always be provided and requests for additional identity verification would be supported.
Council warned that under the 2020 Local Government Act, significant penalties (exceeding $10,000) can apply for impersonating a Council Officer.
