Warning as elderly lady targeted in two separate scams

AN eagle-eyed neighbour proved a valuable asset for an elderly Tuam woman this week, when she was targeted by two scam operations at her home.
Nodlaig Brennan received a letter at her home in Park View Drive last Thursday morning telling her she had won over €800,000 in the Spanish lottery. Convinced the correspondence was genuine, she rang her daughter to tell her she had some really good news, and was busy working out how much of her windfall she would give to local charities.
When two tradesmen arrived at her door offering to power wash her house, she decided she could afford the €350 they quoted.
However, her neighbour Martin McDonagh, who lives opposite Nodlaig, grew suspicious when he saw the unfamiliar van parked outside her home.
“When I arrived over one of the men was in the kitchen filling a drum of water. Nodlaig called me into the living room to tell me of her good fortune with the lotto win and I knew I had to do something to get rid of the men before they did any work that didn’t need doing,” said Martin.