'Unsolicited Repair Man' and Pal Ransack Palos Senior's Home In Ruse

PALOS HILLS, IL — An unsolicited repair man appeared at an elderly Palos Hills woman door while his pal snuck into the house, reports said.

Officers were called to the 11100 block of Roberts Road on April 12 for a report of a ruse burglary. The elderly homeowner told police that a man talked to her at the front door about unsolicited repairs.

Another man entered the house through a back door and ransacked the residence.
The arrival if spring also brings ruse burglars, in addition to flowers and robins. Every year, hundreds of residents, especially seniors, become victims of ruse burglaries throughout the Chicago-metro area.

Ruse burglaries are atypical from the type of burglar that breaks into a business or residence when residents aren't home or the business is closed.

These con artists generally tend to be more active in warmer months, when they are more likely to drive around neighborhoods looking for senior citizens outside their homes tending their gardens or working on the exterior of their houses.

They engage their elderly victims in conversation or make up some ruse that they're from the water department or electric company and need to check something inside the house.

Working in groups, one ruse burglar will talk to the elderly victim, while their accomplices scatter through the house stealing valuables and cash. Often the items taken are irreplaceable, such as a grandmother's diamond ring, because of its sentimental value.

These offenders will also pose as contractors, offering to do such work as driveway seal coating, tree trimming, roof or chimney repairs. While talking to victims, especially the elderly, they'll assess victims' mental capacities, quoting low or high estimates for contracted jobs depending on victims' mental state. When the "work" is completed, they will demand more money from the victim. The work is always substandard.

Family members are encouraged to "role play" and work out a plan with their elderly loved ones should ruse burglars come knocking on their doors pretending they're to buy a car that isn't advertised for sale or check the gas meter.

Senior Safety Tips for Preventing Ruse Burglaries

1. Be aware of anyone coming to your door or approaching you for unsolicited business. Always keep the storm door knocked.
2. When outside gardening, carry a house key in your pocket and keep the doors to the home locked. Have a cell phone handy to call 911 should suspicious persons approach you.
3. Take note of any vehicles in the area—cars, vans, trucks—that are suspicious or seem out of place, particularly those with missing front and/or rear license plates, or vehicles that appear to be in shabby condition with no identifying business markings on the sides.
4. Request identification from the person who approaches you, and tell them you will verify any work to be conducted in the area with the police. If they're legit they will stand by while you call police and present credentials. When the bad guys see that you're calling police, they'll leave.
5. Keep jewelry and other valuables and cash in a safe place, preferably a bank safe deposit box.
6. Ruse burglars are usually non-violent, but don't confront them. If they're inside your house, get to a phone if you can and call 911. You don't have to speak to the operator, just leave the phone off the hook.
7. Most ruse burglars are only in the house for five minutes or less. If you can't get to a phone, try to get a license plate number and note the direction the offenders leave in. Call 911 immediately after they leave, so police have a better chance of nabbing them.