Tulsa Police: Con Artists Pretending to Be City Employees

Tulsa Police said someone is trying to get into houses by pretending to work for the city.

The latest case was in East Tulsa, where an older woman was home alone as it happened. Officers said it could have easily been any neighborhood and any victim.

Police said it's only the current version of an old scam. The victim reported someone came to her door, claiming they were with the city and needed to come in.

"I'm not sure if she was going for it at the beginning, she might have had some red flags go up, she did by the end of it," said Officer Danny Bean. "They asked her about medications she was taking and she told them, and they said she needed to drink bottled water, not tap water and they needed to come in and check that."

The woman lets them inside her home and soon realized she made a mistake.

"It was not City of Tulsa, they didn't send anybody out there, but it was someone trying to use a ruse to take advantage of an elderly woman" said Bean.

Police said city workers will usually have an marked vehicle nearby, they'll always have identification, and anyone who has doubts about someone on their doorstep should call police.

"You want to be able to ask them for a city of Tulsa ID badge, something that shows they are employed with the city, what department they're from, but maybe you should refuse them at the door, if you don't know they're coming" said Bean.

Police said it's okay to call 911 if someone is at your door, unsolicited, with a fishy story. If they're already gone, police said to call their non-emergency line because they want reports to help track where criminals are working.