An elderly Tamaqua man was the victim of a scam and burglary on Tuesday afternoon, according to Tamaqua Chief of Police Rick Weaver.

The Penn Street resident answered his door around 4 p.m. to find a tall, thin white man who claimed to be with PPL Electric Utilities.

Cautious at first, the victim relaxed a bit when the other man said the problem was at the rear of the home, near the victim’s garage.

The resident and the man walked to the rear of the home.

Once they were out of sight of the front door, a second man entered the residence, where he stole cash and jewelry from a second-floor bedroom.

He was in the home only a matter of minutes, then left the home and got behind the driver’s seat of a car parked across the street from the victim’s residence.

The first man then left the resident’s yard and also got in the car. The two thieves drove east on Penn Street before making a right turn onto Green Street.

Weaver describes the first man as being tall and thin, unshaven with what appeared to be diamond stud earrings in both ears. He wore a white shirt, blue pants, blue vest and a blue baseball style cap. The second man was dressed all in gray. They left the scene at 4:16 p.m., possibly in a Nissan.

Weaver warns residents, especially the elderly, to be extra cautious of strangers.

“You know your own neighborhood the best. Be on the lookout for strangers and always ask to see identification. Keep your doors locked, your garage doors closed. These scammers have been known to case a neighborhood, looking to prey on older residents,” Weaver said.

If someone is soliciting, ask to see a permit or the call borough hall at 570-668-3444 to see if a permit has been issued. “When in doubt, call our department at 570-668-6100. This is the nonemergency line to the Schuylkill County Communications center. It is manned 24/7,” Weaver said.