Police in Oslo were once again warning elderly residents not to open their doors to unknown home helpers, after two more violent robberies of elderly residents living alone.
Investigators think the robberies, both in the Groruddalen area, were related and carried out by people posing as aides sent by the city to help elderly residents with household chores or health care services.
The robbers struck first at the home of a 90-year-old man living alone in an apartment at Linderud. After duping him into letting them in, three assailants pushed him to the floor, held him down and beat him before disappearing with a small amount of cash.
A few hours later, robbers also gained access to the home of an 86-year-old woman in the Veitvet area, not far away. She was also thrown to the floor and restrained while the robbers stole items of value.
“We see there have been similar cases like this,” Audun Jevnaker of the Stovner police station told state broadcaster NRK. There also are fears many go unreported.
He cautioned that the robbers in some cases have followed elderly people home from a local shopping center, and offered to help them carry items home. Others have posed as aides from the city’s welfare services for elder care.
“We don’t want to spark fear, but we want elderly people to be on guard and not to accept this kind of ‘help’,” Jevnaker told NRK. He said police were using “great resources” to track down the robbers.
newsinenglish.no staff