Two similar burglaries have triggered a warning from state police, aiming to keep others from falling prey.

The recent crimes in Mercer and Armstrong counties, part of the state police Troop D service area, were both so-called “distraction burglaries,” said Trooper John Gray.

“It seems like they’re targeting the elderly,” Gray said Wednesday of the unknown crooks.

The type of break-in often involves a pair of burglars working in tandem, unbeknownst to the victim.

Gray said one burglar distracts the homeowner in front or back of the house talking about landscaping or other things. The other burglar sneaks into the house, burglarizing it and then leaves without being seen.

It is not uncommon for the burglary team to use a portable radio or cell phone to keep in contact with one another during the course of the crime.

Distraction burglars frequently represent themselves as contractors, surveyors, home improvement specialists or other type vendor, to lure homeowners outside.

The distraction burglary-style scenario played out for real and close to home at least twice in the past weeks, said Gray, who works out of the Troop D headquarters in Butler.

On Tuesday, an elderly woman had jewelry stolen from her home in East Franklin Township, Armstrong County, after being victimized.

Police said an unknown white woman arrived at an 88-year-old woman’s home on Butler Road in a white van.

The woman, described as about 5 feet tall with black and gray hair, posed as a surveyor for a plumbing company and requested the victim go outside to the back of the home.

The suspect began talking to someone on a portable radio. She fled the scene after about 15 minutes.

The victim later discovered she was missing jewelry from inside the home.

That crime, Gray said, was similar to one last month in Perry Township, Mercer County, where another elderly woman was targeted.

The victim in that case was in the back yard of her Route 358 home about noon April 16 when an unknown man described as being between 30 and 40 years old with a dark complexion suddenly appeared.

The suspect claimed to be a utility worker and began talking to the woman. While keeping the victim occupied in back, the man’s unseen accomplice walked in the unlocked front door of the house.

The woman later found jewelry and money gone from her home.

Gray noted that while the investigations into the two recent break-ins continue, police suspect other distraction burglaries have gone unreported.

Victims, he said, tend to have money or valuables stolen and in many cases will only realize that they have been victimized some time later.

In other cases, crimes go unreported because the victims are embarrassed that they were duped.

Gray offered tips to avoid becoming a victim:

If you’re not sure who the person is at your door, don’t open it.

Ask to see identification of anyone claiming to work for a business or utility company.

If you leave your house, make sure all doors and windows are locked behind you.

Stash valuables such as cash and jewelry, away in less open places, like the kitchen counter.

Meanwhile, anyone who may have been victimized by any crime is asked to call state police or their local police department.