Frankford residents say man posing as city utility worker went door-to-door

PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29) - Neighbors on Dyre Street in Frankford are spooked after they say a man tried to get into homes claiming to be a city utility worker.

According to residents, a man in his 20s went door-to-door claiming to be with the gas company on the 1300 block of Dyre Street.

"He said, 'I'm here to charge up the meter.'" This woman asked not be identified. She says her 11-year-old son was home alone at the time and did not open the door. According to her son, the man tried to put a key in the lock, the door didn't open and he left.

"He went down the steps. My son saw him go to the next door neighbor," she said.

To the home of Gloria Roldan's in-laws. Her husband's grandmother was home at the time, but doesn't speak English.

"She said she was in the kitchen and she heard a noise--like the door open--so she walked over there. She saw some guy right there, standing at the door. Inside the house," Roldan said. "He tried the door. The door was unlocked. It was closed, but unlocked. He just walked in."

Her husband's grandmother ran to get her son in the next room.

The guy just took off. He grabbed a pair of keys, they were hanging right there next to the door. He'd swiped the keys to their truck, which was not taken. The warning signs and security devices didn't seem to slow down the guy who neighbors say kept with the gas company story.

"The neighbor stated to me, he said to the mother that he was here to check the meter. He told my son charge the meter."

Check or charge, it was clearly a scam, PGW put out the warning just last month:

"It's a sad fact that unscrupulous people will turn the very trust people have in their utility providers into a tool for their criminal activities. Unfortunately, not everyone is who they claim to be and these recent incidents are a reminder that we all need to remain vigilant against imposters."