SCWA: Beware of man posing as water inspector in Brentwood

The Suffolk County Water Authority said it is warning Brentwood residents that a man has been trying to get into area homes by posing as a water inspector.

"The man has been seen knocking on doors in Brentwood distributing business cards which read, 'Long Island Water Quality Eng,' " the water authority said in a Facebook posting Monday. The authority said an electronic alert also went out to its customers.

"All SCWA employees are required to carry unique company ID cards in the field. If you are ever unsure whether an individual is an SCWA employee, always ask to see their SCWA ID card," the posting said.

The authority said residents can also call them at 631-698-9500 to verify a person seeking entry to their home is an authority employee.

An authority spokesman said it got a report Monday that a man had knocked on a door in the neighborhood but did not gain entry. The woman in the house called a telephone number on a card the man left and determined he was not an authority employee.

A man who answered that telephone number Tuesday refused to identify himself. He said he did water quality inspection on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but he was not employed by the EPA and could not say who at the EPA he dealt with.

He said he did the inspections as a community service and did not charge a fee.

The water authority said that, "after some internal discussion, we believed the situation to be a fraud . . . we posted warnings to customers, on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, alerting them to this potential scam."