Please verify utility employee IDs
Over the past several months, there have been a number of incidents involving people posing as employees of local utility companies in order to gain access to people's homes in the interest of robbing them. In most cases, the victims were senior citizens, who are usually seen by criminals as easy marks.

Posing as a representative of a legitimate enterprise, such as a utility or cable company, is a common tactic among thieves, many of whom go to an extreme level of detail in order to perpetuate this charade.

We urge all people who are suddenly and unexpectedly visited by anyone claiming to be from a public utility company to be sure to verify their identities as such before allowing them access to one's home and property. The legitimate ones will surely understand.

First and foremost, do not let anyone into your house without verifying the person's identification. Call the company they claim to be from, and ask whether they are responsible for sending that person to your home. Do not allow the person to give you a phone number, because they may give you a fake number with an accomplice on the other end of the line. Find the phone number yourself — try the Internet or dial information. Failing that, call the police and ask them to verify. Most police departments will be more than happy to send someone over to check a person out. Finally, try to get a good impression of what the person looks like in the event that you may need to file a police report later.

It is not our intention to frighten people about everyone who might potentially come to visit. However, this does not mean that basic precautions should not be made when it comes to one's own security.

We urge people to exercise caution.