Local National Grid Impostor Rob Elderly Man

Police say a local man was arrested and charged for dressing as a National Grid employee and entering and burglarizing an elderly man's home.

News 10 ABC is reporting that Watervliet police arrested James Ryder, 32, of Watervliet. According to the report, Ryder teamed up with another individual and they posed as National Grid employees. The other suspect has yet to be identified.

According to News 10 ABC the two con men were able to convince the elderly man that they needed to check meters that were located in the man's basement and proceeded to operate the scam.

Once the unsuspecting elderly man let the two into his home, according to the report, one of the men remained upstairs and robbed the place while the other in the basement allegedly did the "distracting."

It is unclear at this time which of the two men actually took the items, but according to the story, Ryder was charged and taken to Albany County Correctional Facility.

Watervliet police believe this may be an isolated incident, but they haven't ruled out any other scams posed by these two men. Police are asking citizens to alert them if they feel that they too have had any similar experiences. If so, call the Criminal Investigations Unit at (518)270-3837.

According to News 10 ABC, this isn't the first time thieves have posed as National Grid employees. There have been complaints filed in Amsterdam alleging that scam artists have called people and attempted to collect unlawful payments over the phone.