ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Some ne'er-do-wells are marketing themselves in the county as do-gooders wanting to help -- perhaps with tree trimming or electrical work.
But the Orange County Sheriff's Office says these people are actually targeting your home and sometimes getting inside without you noticing.
"They come to the door wanting to see if we needed some tree trimming and I said no. But they wanted to know where the line was because the people next door was wanting tree trimming done," Marie Burroughs said.
Burroughs and her husband were targeted last Tuesday.
The Sheriff's Office is calling it distraction crime.
Since mid-March, the Sheriff's Office says 10 homes have been targeted across the county.
"I went out with him to show him the line and in the meantime, the other one came in with my husband and tried to get him sidetracked on the back porch and I guess when they did that somebody else slipped in and took a bunch of jewelry," Burroughs said.
The jewelry was worth $5,000, she said.
She didn't notice they were missing until the next day when she was getting ready for church.
"They will come and find out a residence to where there is a senior or a couple that is out there that are pretty much self-reliant on themselves that really believe in the community," said Laura Land, senior crime prevention practitioner with the Sheriff's Office.
Lang says the thieves work in teams.
One person distracts the homeowner and gets them out the house while the other sneaks in and steals what they can.
"It would be happening in minutes. Remember, they are professionals. They know what they want. They know what they're looking for and how to get it and how to get in and out very quickly," Langsaid.
In some cases, Lang says the thieves use a phone or communication device to talk with their partner.
The Burroughs say the men used walkie-talkies and continued to speak into them saying they needed more flags.
Burroughs thinks it was a code term.
Authorities say it is always best to ask for identification when approached by a person claiming to be with a certain company.
But to err on the side of caution, Lang suggests calling 911 and alert them someone is trying to gain access to your property who you didn't invite.
She recommends waiting for a law enforcement officer to come out to make sure the person is with a legitimate company.