Nassau cops warn seniors: Be wary of burglars

Scams on older residents on back-to-back days prompted Nassau County police Thursday to issue a warning that senior citizens are being targeted for home burglaries.

Nassau County police issued a "residential crime alert," saying residents should immediately dial 911 to report suspicious people or vehicles.

The latest incident happened Wednesday when a man knocked on the door of an 84-year-old Jericho resident and asked the homeowner about cleaning the gutters, police said.

The homeowner allowed the man into the kitchen and a second man apparently entered the house and slipped up to the second floor, police said.

The homeowner became suspicious and told the man he was calling police. The second man came down the stairs at that point, and both men left the area in a white van, police said. Apparently, there was no loss to the homeowner.

On Tuesday, an 80-year-old Massapequa Park man decorating his home for the holidays was hoodwinked by burglars pretending to work for the power company, police said.

That homeowner was decorating his home on Philadelphia Avenue about 2 p.m. when he was approached by a man in his mid-30s, with a diamond stud in his lower lip, unshaven and wearing a light-colored baseball cap, police said.

The man told the homeowner he was from the power company and got him to go to the back yard, where he spent about 20 minutes explaining how utility work in the yard would proceed, police said.

When the homeowner's wife returned, she found an unknown amount of jewelry was missing from an upstairs bedroom, police said.