The Sunnyvale Sun

News

Resident stops potential crime

By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL

Another scam returned to Sunnyvale on Oct. 19, but unlike in the recent lottery-scam, quick thinking by a resident prevented a crime.

Just before 3 p.m. Oct. 19, a man knocked on the front door of a Teal Drive house, claiming he was with a utility company and needed to check the resident's water line because there had been a sewer blockage.

According to Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Deputy Chief Tim Johnson, the resident refused to let the man in and closed and locked the front door.

"The information is consistent with the things we were seeing before; the suspect description was the same," Johnson said.

In July, a man told an 84-year-old woman he was from the city of Sunnyvale and was there to check for water contamination.

He showed a laminated 4-by-6 card that said "City of Sunnyvale Employee" and identified himself as "Anthony."

He sent the woman outside to turn the water off and while she was outside stole $60 from her purse.

Several days later, a similar scam was attempted, but the man said he was from a private company. The resident became suspicious and called 911, and the man fled.

There was also a similar incident in September.

After the earlier scams, the city put out a number of informational pieces to educate people about city policy and public works uniforms so residents can identify real employees.

"If we send someone out, they're going to be clearly marked; they'll have badges," Johnson said.

The city--in addition to working with local residents to prevent future crimes--has been working with county agencies and neighboring police forces to make sure the crimes do not spread.

"What we're seeing is that if someone comes to Sunnyvale and gets turned away, they may go into other nearby cities," Johnson said.