"They travel throughout the whole southeast United States and probably further than that, " said Irene Pennington, chief of police in Thunderbolt, Georgia.

"They go to a residence, they offer to do repair work, they will sometimes do some of it, then they disappear.

They don't complete the work and they don't come back.

"Be wary if someone comes to your door and offers to do work and asks for money up front. Ask for references, don't even talk to them is the first rule of business as far as I am concerned" she added.

The state goverernor's consumer affairs office has also issued a warning about the Travellers and said they specifically tackle vulnerable elderly people.

There are an estimated 2,000 Irish Travellers living in the southeast, descendants of Travellers who emigrated in the 19th century.