Abington Police Warn Of Phony Water Department Worker Scam
By Brad Segall
ABINGTON, Pa. (CBS) - Abington Township police are warning residents about a scam involving phony water department workers after an elderly man was robbed of $10,000 worth of jewelry earlier this month.
Police say the victim was approached in the driveway of his Mill Road home two weeks ago by a man who identified himself as a water company employee and said a neighbor had problems with flooding in the house. He told the victim he wanted to check his house.
Deputy Police Chief John Livingood says the victim let him in and he checked faucets throughout the house, then "they were upstairs near the master bedroom when suddenly a second male appeared who the victim had never seen enter the house -- does not know where he came from."
They told the victim everything was okay and left. The victim's wife came home and found the jewelry was missing.
"These happen over a wide ranging area," Livingood explains, "so you have to look at the entire region, and this has been an ongoing problem for quite a period of time."
Police have released composite sketches of the two middle-aged white men and are working with other police departments who have had similar crimes.
