They knock on doors and demand cash to settle delinquent water bills.
They've struck at least three times in Brooklyn in the last month, according to Mercedes Padilla, of the DEP's Communications and Public Affairs Office. A similar incident also occurred on Staten Island in September of 2007.
"Customers must keep in mind that a DEP employee must provide proper identification if he/she needs to enter a property, and our inspectors never ask for cash payments," DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd said in a press release.
Homeowners should ask the inspector for a DEP contact phone number to confirm the visit.
