BUTTERWORTH, Feb 28 — The police have set up a task force to track down criminals impersonating government servants to rob housewives and senior citizens who are alone at home.

State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief SAC Mazlan Kesah said the people must be on the alert as the number of cases  have increased. 

“My advice to those who are always at home alone is not to open their door to people they don't know,” he said.

Azman said the gangs would normally stakeout at houses they intend to rob to ensure there were no male occupants at home.

Mazlan said this after visiting a victim of one of the gangs.

Grandmother Ismail Bee Mydin Pillai was robbed at knife-point by two well-dressed men at her flat in Lorong Tuna, Seberang Jaya, recently.

She lost RM300, two gold rings and a pair of earrings, totalling RM2,000 to the men who claimed to be welfare officers.

Mazlan said the task force would be headed by state deputy CID chief Supt Shahrunain Jais.

He said police had recorded 15 such cases this year — three on the island and 12 on the mainland — with losses estimated at RM84,500.