Over the past few months, Anne Arundel County has seen an increase in residential burglaries, in which the suspects knock on the door and pose as utility wokers. While this has not been a dramatic increase, there have been enough where it is important to educate the public as to what they need to be aware of. The main deception seems to be people posing as the "water company" but other deceptions have been used as well. Examples include repaving the driveway, BGE, or even something as simple as doing yard work for you. It should be noted there is no such thing as the "water company". In addition, employees of BGE will have BGE identification. These individuals will be very polite and convincing when speaking with citizens. They generally seem to focus on the elderly. The claim they need to check the water inside your house or some sort of other business. Once inside, they continue to distract their victims, while another breaks into the house. Some past cases have described these individuals as possibly being Hispanic or Hispanic looking. If you have someone knock at your door and try to invite themselves in, please ask for identiification from their company. If you see anything suspicious, please dial 911 and the police will respond. The most important thing to remember is not to let them in your house. Neighboring law enforcemnt agencies in Howard County and Baltimore County are experiencing these types of incidents as well. We are working together to apprehend these offenders.
