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Police Warn About Roofing Scam Targeting Elderly In Boulder County

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - The Boulder County Sheriff's Office is sending a warning about a scam that is targeting the elderly.

Two homes have been burglarized by thieves posing as roofing contractors. The thieves picked homes next to pockets of farm land and open space.

Some of the homes in the area have dilapidated roofs.

"They came onto the property, identified themselves as being with either John's Roofing or Estes Roofing," Vinnie Montez with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said.

One of the homes is located on South Boulder Road and the other on Brockway Drive. Both victims are elderly. One woman is in her mid-90s. One of the men distracts the homeowner while another ransacks the home.

"In both cases they led the elderly residents either to the backyard to look at some tree trimming, or in another case they went to the kitchen to prepare something while another person moved about the house," Montez said.

Jewelry and some other items were taken.

Shad Gilbreath with Acclaim Roofing offered some tips for homeowners to help them verify whether or not a company is legitimate.

"You want to make sure they're licensed in the city that you live in," Gilbreath said.

Gilbreath says some legitimate roofers will knock on doors to solicit work.

"Another thing that you want to look for is a locally-owned company," Gilbreath said. "If you want to have them look at your roof have them wait outside and pull them up online and maybe even call their office to make sure they're a real employee of that company … most reputable companies at least have a logo on their shirt or their business card will show that they're with the BBB."

So far there have only been two victims but other homeowners have been approached.

The suspects were seen driving a black truck with a white stripe.

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