GODFREY - An email to Riverbender.com sent at 12:53 a.m. on June 6 alerted to a possible scam involving an elderly woman in Godfrey.
Captain Mike Dixon of the Madison County Sheriff's Office confirmed a police report regarding an incident on Longview in Godfrey is currently being completed after an incident was reported to have happened Monday, June 5. That incident was shared across social media and sent to the Riverbender.com email. It stated the following:
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An elderly friend of the family in a Godfrey neighborhood had two men come to her house today claiming to be there to do work on her house at the request of her son. They knew or were able to easily get information from her to know her son's name and play it off that they knew her from the past as well. They claimed they were there to fix a gutter and that said son sent them. They were able to state the son's name. They asked for access to a ladder and hot water. In order to get hot water, one of the men came into the house, presumably to scope things out to see if anything was worth stealing. Since the men were very smooth talkers and spoke as if they knew the person's son, the person let them in. They asked for money to pay for the repair of which thankfully the lady did not have any on her. One of them also asked for blood pressure medication stating he forgot his or something. Nothing was stolen that has been noticed. The men left and told her they would be back later to fix the gutter when she could pay them. These men were in a silver/light colored four door truck with what is believed to have been Missouri plates. There was a black stripe or large emblem on the back of the truck. Both men were white and in their 20s/30s with smaller builds. Police reports have been filed and they will be patrolling the area heavily.
Dixon confirmed the incident sounded like a home improvement scam, but did not confirm whether or not deputies would be increasing patrols in that area. He said the vehicle was described as a silver or gray truck with black trim.
He said Godfrey residents, and elderly people across the Riverbend, should be on alert for home improvement scammers. He advised them not to let people into their homes without having first called them.
"If you didn't call them, don't have them do the work," Dixon advised. "If your roof isn't leaking, and they come to fix your gutters without you calling, they're probably scamming you."
Anyone who feels they have been a victim of this scam or any others is invited to call the Madison County Sheriff's Office or their local law enforcement agency to report it.
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