QUINCY, ILL. -- Residents around the Tri-States are still shaken up after falling prey to scams and thefts Tuesday, February 16th.

A man knocked on the door of several houses, saying he needed to inspect something inside the home.

He then distracts the homeowner while other people enter the home and steal whatever they can.

We've had reports of scams like this in Quincy, Hannibal and around Carthage.

KHQA's Jarod Wells found out how these crimes are happening and what you can do to keep from becoming a victim in Your Safe Family Report.

"I just feel like I don't want to trust anybody," said one victim who wants to remain anonymous, but was willing to tells us what happened to her.

The victim said, "Well, I answered the door, my back door. And he said, well, the church over there is having trouble with their water. And he wanted me to show him my water meter."

So she took him to her water meter in the basement. Once down there, he told her to tap on a pipe as he went back upstairs. Ten minutes later, she went upstairs and found the man was gone and her home had been ransacked.

The victim said, "There was probably somebody else up here, and they went through all the drawers in my bedroom and they went through the drawers in that bedroom and I could tell they were in the closet."

But it seems the thieves only were after money, no jewelry or anything else was taken.

The victim said, "I don't know whether I'm going to start being afraid or not."

KHQA spoke with Lieutenant Jason Simmons of the Quincy Police Department. He says thieves will try to use some sort of work going on in the neighborhood to get inside a home. In this case, the robber used a nearby church. Simmons says if you haven't requested someone come to your property or you do not know the person, you should be very suspicious.

QPD Lieutenant Jason Simmons said, "And if you just feel uncomfortable about it, again, based on the circumstances that are going on recently, I would just deny them entry."

Simmons says to ask for identification. Ask for a contact number for the company the person claims to represent, then call the company for verification. And be cognizant of what's going on in your neighborhood.

Simmons said, "If you see something going on at your neighbor's residence, if you see somebody carrying out equipment or personal belongings out of there and it just doesn't seem right, call the police immediately."

It's also extremely important to be the best witness you can. Pay attention to the person's face, clothing and vehicle. But all advice aside, these crimes are raising many questions.

Victim said, "Everything is locked up in here, but how am I going to find out who that person is on the other side of the door? They say have them show identification, but how do you know that that's not a false identification? So how do you be safe?"

The victim told KHQA the man who came to her home was about 20 years old with dark hair.

He was wearing a hat and was fairly short.

The police department has gotten descriptions from other crime victims, but officers have made no arrests.