Conman is on a scamming Quest

The man, who was wearing an identity label around his neck, was selling copies of a magazine called Quest for £3, and claimed that 25 per cent of the money would go to the company and the rest would be donated to charitable causes.

A Bishopbriggs resident got in touch with the Herald after being targeted last week.

The scam had previously been reported in Milngavie, as well as further afield in Dumfries and Galloway.

Local police said: “We have received several reports of a male attending properties offering to sell ‘Quest’ magazines.

“Quest Magazine is a free publication available for subscription free of charge via their website.

“Quest is not a charity, and they do not collect on behalf of other charities.

“Under no circumstances will a representative from Quest knock on your door to ask for a donation.

“If you receive any suspicious callers, do not allow them into your property and decline whatever they are offering you.

“Phone the company they claim to work for. Genuine callers will not mind you checking up on them.

“Take down as much detail about the suspicious person as possible and hand it into the police.”

After a previous similar incident, East Dunbartonshire Council’s then director of governance and regulation, Diane Campbell, said: “Our advice to residents is to decline any unsolicited approaches from doorstep callers, from tradespeople to magazine sellers.

“Our Trading Standards team has not received any complaints about the sale of this ‘Quest’ magazine.”

She added: “We would ask anybody aware of similar incidents to get in touch with the duty officer at East Dunbartonshire Trading Standards on 0141 578 8813 as soon as possible.