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Property Thieves Imitate Child Thieves
October 8, 2010 permalink
It's hard to tell the difference between a child protection worker and a thief. Thieves in Oklahoma took advantage of the confusion to gain entry to private homes. One showed her professional skill by shoving her foot in the door.
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Police: Women Posing As DHS Workers, Asking For Children
Suspects Using Fake Badges, Police Say
MOORE, Okla. -- Authorities are warning parents about fake Oklahoma Department of Human Services workers who have been going door to door.
Investigators said it's already happened twice in Moore. The problem stems from DHS workers wearing plain clothes and the fact that many residents aren’t aware of what the department’s badge looks like.
Resident Darren Modena said he had never received a visit before from a DHS case worker.
“What's scary about it is that they use the DHS to throw you off your guard,” he said. “Somebody like that shows up at your house and they say, ‘We're with DHS and we need in. We need to check things out.’ It kind of throws you off.”
Two Moore residents in two different neighborhoods were targeted this past week.
Police said one resident was approached Wednesday evening at her door by two women who said they were with the DHS and were there to pick up her child. One woman even showed a badge.
Police said when the resident said she had no children, one of the women shoved her foot in the door to stop the resident from closing it.
The women left in a dark gray SUV, according to police.
Another resident came forward to police Thursday morning. Police said she was approached at her home by a woman, who claimed to be a DHS worker, and was there to review a case involving her 1-month-old daughter who died earlier this year.
The resident refused to discuss the matter and the woman left, according to police.
“It is a crime to pose as a state worker,” said Sgt. Jeremy Lewis with the Moore Police Department. “You can't say you're someone in that official capacity. We have a lot of legitimate DHS workers who are going to residences and this is definitely going to make their job more difficult now."
In all of these cases, police said the impostors never gained access to inside the homes, but Moore police said it’s possible the door knockers are trying to get inside to steal things like prescription drugs.
Police urge that if you suspect someone is posing as a fake DHS worker or any state worker, call 911 immediately.
Source: KOCO Oklahoma City
