Gwinnett police warn of thieves targeting elderly - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Gwinnett County police are warning people to look out for thieves targeting the elderly.

Investigators say there have been at least 11 incidents in the last few weeks.

In most of the cases, one crook knocks on the door, claiming to be building a fence and asking about the property line. While the homeowner is distracted, a second suspect then sneaks inside the house and steals jewelry.

Diana Bannister said that she hopes every senior citizen will heed her warning. The 65-year-old south Gwinnett County homeowner said that she lost nearly $4,000 in valuable jewels in a scam.

"I felt so violated. So violated. I couldn't have felt any worse," said Bannister.

She said that back in February, she got a knock at the door from a man impersonating a utility worker. Within a couple of minutes, he'd convinced her to accompany him to her backyard.

Bannister says the man kept her outside about 10 minutes, spoke briefly a couple of times in a foreign language on his two-way radio and then left shortly afterwards. Two hours later, Bannister's husband came home and realized what really happened.

"He opened the drawer to a jewelry that we had our good jewelry in and it was empty," said Bannister.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl Jake Smith says the same scam has been reported several times since Bannister's burglary, with two occurring this month alone.

Most victims say the man at the door had a Hispanic or Slavic accent. Sometimes they reported seeing a light-colored pickup truck.

Smith hopes that someone will call police with information about the suspects.

Authorities remind the public that thieves can use all kinds of ploys to get into your home, so make sure to ask for proper identification.