Water company imposter steals more than $1,000 cash from elderly man

COVINA, CA (FOX 11) - An elderly man home alone becomes the perfect target for a scammer in Covina. Police say it happened earlier in the week.

When a 90-year-old Covina man heard a knock on his door last week, he figured the man standing at his doorway was with a utility company. In fact, the man said he was there to check on his water.

"I really don't know how this person sleeps at night," said Amanda Felt, the granddaughter.

Felt said the man was really a scammer, and he wound up stealing a $1,000 cash from her grandpa's home.

"My first reaction was jaw on the ground, had to sit down," she added.

She said the scammer targeted her grandpa because construction was going on down the street. The thief claimed to be with the project and needed to shut off some faucets in the home. She said the man went room-by-room turning off faucets and looking around.

Once he realized the grandfather was the only man home, the man asked him to go outside and hold the garden hose, while the thief checked something inside.

Meanwhile, the thief was ransacking the house.

"Drawers and dressers were ajar," she explained. "I even found one of the closet doors off the hinge. He had gone through everything in a short period of time."

Covina police say they are looking for a caucasian male, about 5'9.

They caution people that utility companies will usually call before showing up at your door and residents should always check for employee identification.