Alert: Police Warn of Utility Scam Used by Robbers Saturday in Arlington Ridge

The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is warning the public about a recent robbery scheme.

On Saturday, two suspects knocked on the door of a residence in the 700 block of S. 31st Street in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood, near Fort Scott Park, at approximately 3:22 p.m. and claimed they needed to perform repair work for a utility company. 

The elderly female victim, 91, allowed the men to enter the residence, where one of the men confined her to a room while the other man rummaged through the remainder of the house. After concealing valuables, the two suspects fled the scene on foot and remain at-large.

Suspect one is described as a white or Hispanic male in his twenties, approximately 5’6” and 160 pounds. He was wearing a Nike blue T-shirt and had a chipped front tooth. Suspect two is described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, approximately 5’1” and 145 pounds.

If anyone has information on the identity and/or whereabouts of these individuals, please contact Detective Trainer of the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at (703) 228-4185 or at jtrain@arlingtonva.us. To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at (866) 411-TIPS (8477). 

If you are confronted with a similar situation or claim, make sure to verify that it is actually your utility company. Residents can do this by directly calling the number on your latest bill or by finding the number on the utility company’s main website. Never allow anyone into your home without proper identification.

After making a verification call, if you find that you were a victim of a scam or were a target, please file an online police report at http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/police/incident/new/start-report.html or call the non-emergency police line at 703.558.2222.