Tyrone Borough Police are alerting residents to a scam which has already led to at least one elderly person being victimized.
An unknown male shut off an elderly resident’s power via a circuit breaker in an apartment building last night. The unknown suspect then knocked on the resident’s door and stated he had been sent to “fix the lights.”
An investigation revealed this was a scam to gain entry into the victim’s residence. Although, Tyrone Borough Police have not named the victim in the case they said the incident occurred about 8 o’clock Tuesday night in the 900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue.
The suspect in the case is being described as a white male in his early 20s with brown hair. He is approximately six feet tall and has a thin build. The man was last seen wearing a ballcap and a plaid flannel jacket. A purse was stolen from the apartment according to the press release on the incident.
“We feel this is an isolated incident,” said Chief Joseph Beachem. “We urge all residents to request identification if they are approached by a borough employee such as someone from the sewer or water department. In this case it wasn’t someone from the borough it was someone who claimed to work for the landlord.
“We have seen about four or five of these cases here in the borough in the last year,” said Beachem. “However, this type of incident has happened quite a bit countywide. There are people (scam artists) who specialize in this type of thing.”
Chief Beachem is reminding all residents to be very cautious when allowing entry by strangers into their homes. He stressed if there is any doubt about an individuals identity or intentions, please call the police immediately so they can verify the persons purpose and identity.
