3 men claim to be water company workers

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- Three men claiming to be water company employees are trying to force their way into homes in the greater Hartford area.

"I heard bang, bang, bang, so hard and I said who is it, who is it," Leona Coladonato said.

The violent knock caught Leona by surprise. It was the middle of the afternoon in West Hartford and the man at the door was wearing work clothes.

"I'm here with MDC to check the water in the kitchen, he said can I come in, I said no," Coladonato said.

But Leona says he tried to force his way inside, but had no I.D., no hard hat, so she pushed back.

"He really tried to pull the door open on you," News 8's Bob Wilson asked.

"Oh yeah, I just pulled it back and I put my body against it and said no you are not coming in, get out of here and then I was really starting to get mad because he insisted on coming in," Coladonato said.

Police say this is how the scam can work -- The bogus water company employees case the neighborhood until someone lets them in, then they ask you to turn the water on in the sink. When you're doing that they say they have to check the pipes in the basement, upstairs and as they are doing that and you are standing there at the sink, they go through your drawers and steal anything they can put in their pocket.

"We had two incidences on the same day yesterday," Lt. Stephen Estes said.

Police say the bogus water worker tried another house a couple of blocks over and the police say the home owner let him in, but kicked him out after the worker started asking if he had change for one hundred.

"This was going to be some kind of a rebait or some kind of a discount on the water bill, whatever the rouse was it was to get him to break their hundred dollar bill," Lt. Estes said.

Police believe the workers were trying to find out where the home owner kept his money.

Nobody was injured in either incident.

MDC employees will always have an I.D. on them.