Sheriff issues scam alert

Two elderly women told police two suspicious men posing as utility workers have tried to enter their homes.

Police refer to these scammers as "distraction thieves."

Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton issued a press release Monday warning local residents that these thieves are back in the area again.

In both cases, two white men arrived at the women's homes in a black car.

One of the women, who is 91 years old, told police the men stole $500 from her purse when they came to her South Johnson Street home at 12:30 p.m. Friday.

She told Gaffney Police Department officers that one of the men stayed in the car while the second man came to her door and told her he worked for Green Globe. He said he needed to measure the rooms and entered her home. The woman told police that while she was helping the man measure her rooms, the second man must have entered her home and stolen the money from her purse, according to the report at the Gaffney Police Department.

She said she couldn't describe the man who stayed in the car, but said the man who was measuring her rooms was approximately 6 feet tall and weighed approximately 225 pounds. He appeared to be in his 40s or 50s and wore a brown hat and coat.

The second woman, who is 80 years old, told deputies that two men drove into her yard on Ed's Road in Blacksburg some time between noon and 3 p.m. Friday and pretended to be with the power company, a report at the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office states. They told her they wanted to look through her residence and measure her home to see if she was eligible for a discount.

According to the sheriff, the woman told the men she thought they were trying to scam her and refused to let them inside her home.

If you see a suspicious persons, activities or vehicles in your area, please contact Cherokee County Dispatch Center at (864) 487-2747 or call the Sheriff's Office at (864) 489- 4722.