Phony water utilities worker cases home in Solana Beach

There are a couple recent reports of individuals posing as utilities employees to gain access to San Diegans’ homes.

According to a Carmel Valley blogger, “The police warn of two incidents outside of Carmel Valley where a man identifies himself as a utility worker, asking to inspect the rear of the house. While the victim is distracted, a second suspect goes inside the house and commits a burglary. Victims are usually elderly. The male suspect is described as a well groomed, 40-50, 5’5” to 5’8”, with short dark hair.”

A February 11 San Diego News article reported a January 29 incident in Solana Beach “where a man supposedly claimed to be working for the Santa Fe Irrigation District appeared at the home of an elderly woman and said that he needed to check something in her water system. When the homeowner requested for identification, he dodged getting caught by saying that his ID’s were in his truck.”

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has warned that the elderly are targeted by this scam. Once the impostors are welcomed inside, they walk through the house and take a visual inventory of the homeowners’ possessions. No inspections are performed. Ostensibly, the phony inspection is a precursor to burglary.