Scams Target Northeast Cobb Elderly

Two incidents reported in recent weeks appear to be scams targeting the elderly in Northeast Cobb, according to the Cobb County police.

Driveway Paving Scam

On the afternoon of March 3, a white man driving a white truck with amber lights on top approached an elderly woman. The man offered to pave her driveway with “extra concrete he had left over from a job." She agreed to let him do the work. Large, damp piles of rocky concrete were dumped in the driveway. The concrete was obviously garbage rinsed out of a dump truck.

The scam was interrupted when the victim’s son arrived. No money was paid. A large mess was left behind.

The victim’s son confronted the men, who threatened him with what he believed to be a handgun before leaving.

The driver of the white truck was a white man in his late 20s, 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds. He was cleanshaven with dark hair that was shaved on the sides and spiked on top.

The other white man was in his early 30s, 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds. He had short, dark hair.

The vehicles were described as a large white truck, likely a Chevrolet Silverado, and a red 1990s model truck with a short wheelbase and wooden rails along the bed, which had been raised like a dump truck.

Home Exterior Cleaning Scam

The second incident occurred March 10. Three men who appeared Hispanic knocked on the front door of an 86-year-old woman’s house on Ebenezer Road off Sandy Plains Road. They said they were cleaning the exteriors of homes in the area. The men invited her outside to look at a test spot on her residence.

While she was distracted, one of the men entered her home and stole several pieces of jewelry, including her dead husband’s gold wedding band.

The men were described as in their 20s or 30s and clean cut. They spoke very good English.

A neighbor described the vehicle as a white truck with a short, flat bed. There were unpainted wooden rails on at least three sides and possibly one on the tailgate that was folded down. The bed appeared to have lawn maintenance or pressure-washing equipment in it.

These types of criminal prey on the elderly. They appear friendly and talkative to distract and confuse potential victims.

If you are confronted by anyone who approaches and tries to sell a product or service who is not wearing a Cobb County-issued solicitor permit, the best course of action is to say that you are not interested and demand that the individuals leave your property. Tell them you are calling the police, and do not engage in any sort of conversation. Call 911 and have an officer respond to check the area.

In unincorporated Cobb County, door-to-door solicitors are required to have a solicitor permit issued by the Cobb County Business License Division, which is valid for 30 days. This permit may be displayed on either shoulder of the solicitor’s clothing and must be visible to the customer.

What You and Your Neighbors Can Do

The police have had success with apprehending criminals because residents called 911 to report suspicious behavior. You are the eyes and ears in Northeast Cobb and know who doesn’t belong. Call 911 when you see people on foot you don’t recognize or vehicles that drive slowly up and down the street or that are stopped with someone just sitting in the vehicle.

Courtesy of the Precinct 4 PENS (Police Email Notification System) bulletin.