TRADING standards bosses have urged residents to be on their guard after a fraudster stole cash from a pensioner.

The conman called the woman's house and told her he was selling goods for charity.

She agreed to buy a pair of scissors for £9, but when the cheque was cashed at a bank it had been altered to £99.

Councillor John Fort, of North Yorkshire County Council, said: "This is clearly a deception, and it is unlikely that the man represents any charity."

He said the incident in Hutton-le-Hole, near Pickering, was isolated, but showed how people should not not deal with cold callers.

His comments were backed by Liz Levett, York trading standards manager, who said: "Although we have had no reports of similar incidents, we have had some building work scams in the past.

"The people who carry out these scams target old and vulnerable people and the work is never done, or ends up costing far more than they originally suggested.

"Our advice would be: do not do business on the doorstep, whatever people

are selling.

"If you need building or other work doing, there are plenty of reputable local traders, who can be contacted via a local trade association or the council's home services directory."

North Yorkshire County Council's campaign Doorstoppers, backed by the Evening Press, calls on residents to "say no" to doorstep callers.

The aim is to raise awareness of the dangers of bogus callers and distraction burglaries, and press for a law change to combat door-to-door property repair tradesmen.

Call 01904 552519 for York council's traders' directory. Anyone visited by a cold caller should call trading standards on 08454 040506.

Updated: 11:50 Friday, July 01, 2005