D.C. Water is warning its customers to be on the lookout for scammers who pose as utility workers to gain access to customers' homes and then burglarize them.

The scammers give an excuse to get inside the home and then take items while the resident is distracted or case the house and come back later, officials said.

Customers should verify the identification of utility employees before letting them in their houses.

D.C. Water employees drive distinctively marked vehicles with D.C. municipal license plates. They wear uniforms with the D.C. Water logo, and they have a D.C. Water and Sewer Authority identification card. - Freeman Klopott