91-year old Linden, NJ man robbed after thief poses as home contractor

LINDEN, N.J. (WABC) -- Police in New Jersey are warning about a thief posing as a home contractor, after a 91-year-old man was robbed in Linden.

It happened last Thursday afternoon.

It started with a stranger, coming to his home.

"I went to the door, the man said the neighbor wanted to fix the fence, there was a branch hanging over, and they were scared for the baby," said John, the victim.

The man convinced John to go to the backyard with him to see the work, just to get him out of the house.

"Someone lures you out, someone else enters, goes to the bedroom looking for valuables," said Capt. James Sarnicki, of the Linden Police Department.

They went straight to a box where John kept $6,000. The stranger's phone rang.

"The one will call and say, 'I got the money, let's go,'" Capt. Sarnicki said.

The man abruptly left. John's son later discovered the money missing.

"I guess they got in when, he may have had someone with him, I didn't see nobody else didn't see a car," John said.

Captain Sarnicki also spoke of a grandmother who recently got a scam call that her grandson was arrested in Peru and needed $4,000.

"She goes to the bank, puts the money on a prepaid card, he was able to cash it in," Sarnicki said.

John's family has gone over safety rules with him now.

"You were careful when we came to the door," Eyewitness News said.

"Oh yes, they told me too," Sarnicki said.

Because the captain says seniors are not surprisingly favorite targets.

"The elderly come from a different generation when scams were not prevalent. They were raised to be neighborly, charitable and giving," Sarnicki said.

John and his lovely Jean were married for 60-years before her death. He says the crooks won't change his nature, but he won't fall for anything else again.

"You try to be kind, but that's my problem. It's not my nature to be vindictive," John said.

He described the suspect as a white male with a hat and glasses. He did not observe any other suspect who may have entered the house.

Police are advising residents to be suspicious of anyone who comes to their home without being expected, and to lock their doors, even if they are leaving to go out into their yard.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the Linden Detective Bureau at 908-474-8537.