Sad to say that their cousins/brothers (also English speaking, license plates on the vans are British or Irish) have the same modus operandi here in Holland. Houses with big gardens and elderly people in those houses are their target. A few years ago, a man living down the street with his family addressed those guys next to their Irish-plated van. He almost ended up in a fight with them: agressive response and threats about braking his house' windows. It ended with the police arresting those guys and removing the van. Later that week, the local newspapers had an warning-article about those fake gardeners.