The owner of Molly Maid is asking residents of the Truckee Meadows to be on the lookout for scammers. This comes after an 89-year-old man had $5,000 stolen from his home buy a maid imposter. Denny Jensen says someone knocked on the man's door, claiming to be an employee of Molly Maid, a home-cleaning service. They set up an appointment, and it was during that appointment that the scammer took the money. Jensen says the scammer was not one of his employees.
"They wear a pink shirt, which all of our people do," Jensen said. "One of the tip-offs is they wear a pink hat. We don't wear any pink hats."
Jensen says Molly Maid does not solicit, door-to-door. They also drive company cars and always work in teams of two.
"Any door-to-door solicitations on home cleaning, I would be very suspicious of," Jensen said. "Not only us but our competition, here in town, all operate in the same manner."
Jensen wants to get the word out before any more seniors fall victims to this scam.
"It made me feel terrible but the thing that made me feel the worst was an 89-year-old man being taken for a large sum of money," Jensen said.
The Reno Police Department says these kinds of scams are fairly common, and the elderly often are the targets.
"Elderly people tend to be viewed as more trusting, maybe from a different generation," Sgt. Roya Mason, Property Crimes Division of Detectives for the Reno Police Department said.
Mason says these crimes usually come in waves. Scammers often work in one town for a few months before moving onto another city. Some pretend to be employees of NV Energy, cable guys, and plumbers.
"Speak to them through your door," Mason said. "Don't open your door. If they have credentials, ask to look at them. If you're not sure of the person, you can always call the business, directly."
Molly Maid has about 30 employees and Jensen says this is the first time someone has posed as one of them. He hopes it is also the last time.
"It kills me to see elderly people just taken for something like this, and obviously, the second reason is I don't want to see the name of Molly Maid taken up in a scam," Jensen said.
