You're a harsh crowd.

Is this made up?

I'm wary enough with tradesmen in the house when im alone as it is, let alone naked.

I only wish it were

I cannot even fathom why / how someone would fall for this. It's not like the (im)plausible email "send me dosh, its me your niece stuck in Mongolia"

I'm with stupid too.

(No that isn't a t shirt)

Oh deary dear...............

Usually the maintenance men just say that they need to have water running, and maybe they need someting that uses more water like a shower... so "please turn on the shower while he's there" is not so unreasonable... it's the additional request to "please be naked and using the shower" that raises the flag. My first question would be "uh, why do I have to be *in* the shower? I'll just turn it on and leave it running while you do your inspection."

"No, you need to be physically IN the shower, otherwise this won't work. Also, my cousin is a Nigerian prince who has a great financial proposition for you..."

A friend of mine that is a plumber is often approached by amorous housewives when he is at work, he says it is a problem and not a one off incident you would expect it to be. I can't say he spouts bs, but he is quite Insistent that this happens regularly. We all invite people into our houses to do things, I think that the criminal element the OP quoted are not the only problem. Unless he is teaching an apprentice , he has to go to homes on his todsome and this makes him quite uncomfortable. All that said, no excuse for this criminal, he will be caught soon and he'll get his lot in prison.

maybe he too will become the recipient of some amorous glances while showering in prison

He has been arrested, tge police are looking for the woman accomplice who called to make the appointments.

if this ever goes to trial i can just imagine the judge, both lawyers, and the jurors trying to keep a straight face

Did you laugh at your naive clients when they lost money because they were too trusting/intimidated/stupid?

my clients?

bats .. in that case it is not funny as many are victims of fraud

but getting naked in front of strangers is beyond comprehension

worse still is complaining about it to the authorities after it happened

Would make for an interesting Crimewatch reconstruction!

I'm gobsmacked at the gullibility, but also quite impressed that the women *did* have the courage to complain!

I suspect there's a detail or three missing in the press report.