Posing as DWP Workers, Scam Artists Rob Elderly

Scam artists who pose as Department of Water and Power employees are gaining entry into the homes of elderly women and robbing them of jewels and cash, police say.

In the latest burglary, an elderly Hollywood woman let a man into her house last weekend after he flashed what looked like a DWP badge and said he had to check the water pipes because of water problems in the area.

After telling the woman to tap on her kitchen pipes while he checked other pipes in the house, the man rummaged around for 40 minutes and stole at least $1,000 worth of jewelry and cash, according to Detective Jill Niles of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division.

“He even got her a chair so she could sit down” and tap the pipes while he went through the other rooms, Niles said. “As long as he hears (the victims) tapping, he is secure in knowing they are in the kitchen.”

The burglary was the fourth reported in Hollywood in the last three weeks. Dozens of elderly residents in the South Bay, San Gabriel Valley and San Fernando Valley have reported similar scams recently.

Most victims have reported losing between $500 and $5,000. But last Friday, Ardell Hoffman, an 82-year-old retired Elysian Park bus driver, told police that he was duped by a DWP imposter and his accomplice and that he lost at least $7,000 in cash.

Police put the amount at $921,000 in currency and rare coins. They said Hoffman may have sought to downplay the crime because he stored his money and coins in a safe at his home.

On Tuesday, Mayor Tom Bradley and officials from DWP, Southern California Gas Co. and Southern California Edison Co. held a news conference at Elysian Park to warn senior citizens of the scams.

“Increasing reports of people who open their doors to those claiming to represent our local utilities and then being burglarized or hurt by these charlatans (have) prompted my office and these agencies to engage in a campaign to let the public know how to identify the genuine employees of these companies,” Bradley said.

Police said they suspect that more people have been burglarized but have not yet noticed anything missing or are too scared to call police.

The burglaries have traumatized many of the victims, who police said are usually in their 80s or 90s, frail, and in ill health with failing eyesight and hearing. The victims usually live alone.

The thieves “are not only taking property from these poor old ladies, they’re taking their security too,” said Detective Andrew Purdy of the Hollywood Division. “These women now will not open the door for anyone. They have become prisoners in their own homes.”

Scams involving men posing as utility company employees have occurred in the past. Since April, however, police said there has been a sharp upswing in strikingly similar cases.

“It is becoming a serious problem, and we are seeing more incidents lately than we have before,” said Detective Doug Sims at the Police Department’s burglary division headquarters. He said that it is impossible to tell if an organized ring or copycat cases are responsible and that he could not estimate the number of victims.

“I’d like to think they are all connected, but they are scattered throughout the county,” said Detective Rick Barrera of Hollenbeck Division.

In one case in the San Fernando Valley, quick action by one potential victim led to the arrests of two men.

Jacob Ostroff, 77, was working in his North Hollywood yard in mid-April when he was approached by two men claiming to be DWP employees who needed to check his home’s plumbing.

“They were very friendly, and said they worked for the DWP,” Ostroff said. “They said there was a big leak in the street, which didn’t sound right to me because I didn’t see any water.”

After noticing that the men’s van had no front license plate, Ostroff became suspicious, took down the rear plate number and called police. The two men, described as Gypsies by Detective Richard Ramsdell of the North Hollywood Division, were arrested a few blocks away.

Sims and Ramsdell said that for years, bands of Gypsies have migrated to Los Angeles to perpetrate such scams.

Los Angeles police arrested 21 Chicago-based Gypsies in March, 1988, and recovered more than $500,000 of jewelry from a downtown motel, Ramsdell said. He said that it was the largest group of Gypsies arrested at one time on such charges in the nation and that at least five of the ringleaders have been convicted and sent to state prison.

In other recent cases in the South Bay and San Gabriel Valley, scam artists posing as DWP workers have offered elderly residents a cash rebate of about $20 for conserving water. After entering homes, the men ask victims if they can provide change for a $100 bill. Sometimes they snatch all the victim’s money and flee; other times they ask for change for a counterfeit $100 while searching the house for loot, Sims said.

Still other burglars have gained entry by posing as city officials checking smoke detectors and other equipment.

Because of the recent rash of burglaries, DWP officials and police are warning elderly residents not to open their doors to anyone posing as a utility worker.

DWP spokeswoman Dorothy Jensen said all DWP employees wear uniforms with DWP insignias, drive clearly identified city trucks and only come to homes after setting up an appointment.

Police are going to senior citizens centers in Hollywood and elsewhere to warn the elderly and to ask each of them to call at least one person to spread the warning.

The DWP has a toll-free phone number, (800) DIAL-DWP, for people to call to check on the utility’s employees. While calling, residents should keep anyone claiming to be from the DWP outside, Jensen said.