the main goal of these suspects is to to get inside distract the owner while other members of their group steal from inside the reason that we're here today is that we want to uh provide some information and make people aware of a a certain type of crime Trend that uh has been uh resurfacing here in Milwaukee lately um in approximately the last 5 months or so we've experienced uh about 10 incidents of burglary or theft by Trick In which elderly homeowners are being targeted by groups posing as Home Improvement contractors um sometimes utility workers things like that uh they have cover stories uh which they use to gain access to the uh to the victim's residences um once they're inside usually one of the suspects will distract the the the victim while other other members of their group spread spread out throughout the house and steal items like uh money and jewelry um these suspects um are con artists they they they practice and are very convincing um sometimes in the past they've been known to wear outfits um to support their story um and be more convincing also um we have descriptions of this most recent group uh they travel in a group of approximately two to five suspects usually men in a couple of the incidents they've had one or two women along with them uh they range in age in their 20s to their 40s um they're described as having dark hair and dark eyes um they've been overheard speaking a second unrecognized language uh there are two vehicles that they've used in some of these crimes uh in one of the earlier incidents back this past December they were seen in a dark gray or black newer SUV probably a mitubishi Endeavor um in two of the recent uh burglaries by Trick they used a dark green or blue pickup truck um they've struck in different areas of the city the South Side the north side the West Side most recently a couple of nights ago um in district 7 in the area of 67th in Congress or 51st in Hampton um these vehicles that they use might have outof state plates on them because frequently uh these groups of suspects will travel from state to state um over the years we've tend to notice an increase in um these crimes usually in the spring uh for some reason uh the best way to prevent being a victim of this type of crime is to not let any strangers come come into your house um particularly if if you're elderly if somebody comes to your door and wants to come inside if you don't know them and aren't expecting them um don't let them in if you suspect that these may be um the suspects of these crimes please call the police also be aware of your friends and neighbors uh particularly if they're elderly if you see suspicious activity going on at their house um please call us if you can safely obtain a license plate number uh things like that um please do that and call us also you I just want to uh first of all thank the Milwaukee Police Department for their efforts and trying trying to get the word out to this community joining me are some uh residents of my district uh senior Warriors individuals who are very concerned about issues impacting senior citizens in Milwaukee and uh in my opinion there are a few individuals that are lower than an individual who will pray on the elderly it's incumbent upon all of us to do what we can to keep our eyes open uh contact uh our elderly relatives um make sure that they're not opening the door to any strangers whatsoever uh you know that's the important message to get out and and certainly to work closely with the police