If an unexpected technician arrives on your doorstep without proper ID, keep them outside. When in doubt, call authorities.

Phony AT&T workers ransacked a metro Oklahoma City home earlier this month looking for cash and jewelry while distracting the homeowners with stories of network upgrades and repairs designed to improve service. Instead, the crooks improved their personal jewelry collection and bank accounts.

At least three men were in on the scheme. The first two, both wearing jumpsuits, rang the doorbell of the elderly homeowner claiming they needed access to her property to complete work in the neighborhood.

“[They said we’d have] less static and our lights wouldn’t dim, all these other wonderful things, that our bills would be less because we’re using so much electricity just to keep the phone system going,” or so the story went, according to the daughter of the homeowner who was also at home at the time.

Bizarrely, the workers instructed they turn off all the lights and the television inside the home so work could proceed, and both women were then lured outside to keep them distracted.

A third “employee” later joined the pair, but just as quickly disappeared. More about him in a moment.

About 30 minutes later, the “work” was complete.

“After they left we came back into the house, and that’s when we discovered somebody else had been in the house and ransacked the bedroom looking for things,” the women said.

In all the thieves walked away with an heirloom wedding ring and at least $300 in cash.

“It makes you feel very vulnerable,” the woman told a reporter from KWTV. “It makes you feel like, ‘why didn’t I see what was going on here?'”

It is not the first time phony telecommunications company workers have gained false entry into customers’ homes. AT&T says it does not dispatch technicians without proper identification, plainly visible and available for inspection when requested.

If technicians suddenly arrive on your doorstep without warning, ask them to produce identification and contact the provider for verification. If in doubt, keep them out and call authorities.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/KWTV Oklahoma City Thieves Pose As ATT Workers, Ransack OKC Family’s Home 2-3-13.mp4[/flv]

KWTV in Oklahoma City talked with two women who were victimized by phony AT&T technicians who claimed they were there to improve service. Instead, the men robbed their home.  (2 minutes)