LOXLEY, Alabama -- Loxley Police are looking for three suspects they say cleaned up at a home in Loxley while pretending to be vacuum cleaner sales representatives.

“It’s one of the oldest scams in the book,” said Lt. Raymond Lovell with the Loxley Police Department. “First and foremost, you should never let more than one person that you don’t know into your home at the same time and if you let a person into your home, you should never let them out of your sight.”

The resident, an elderly woman who asked not to be identified, said she was home alone Thursday night, Feb. 14, when two young women came knocking on her front door.

“I never let anyone into my home from the front so I asked them to come around back,” she said. “I thought they had broken down or something. I was just trying to help them out.”

She says the two women came in, asking what kind of floors she had, then asked what kind of vacuum cleaners she owned.

“I told them I had a Kirby tank-type vacuum and one other,” she said. It was then that a man arrived carrying a Kirby vacuum cleaner box.

“They each went to the restroom several times and were gone for several minutes,” she said. “At the time I really didn’t think anything of it.”

But a couple of days later, when she went to look for her wedding ring, she discovered that it was gone, along with another ring that had belonged to her mother.

“My husband has been gone for 26 years, so I don’t wear my ring every day,” she said. “When I discovered it was missing, I called the police.”

Lovell said the items were reported stolen on Saturday, Feb. 16.

“We put out a (‘be on the lookout’ alert) in the surrounding area, and Pensacola, Mobile and Mississippi, but so far have gotten no response,” he said. “We had a similar incident happen about seven or eight years ago when some money was taken off the table.”

Lovell said residents should always be cautious when someone comes to their door, particularly if that person claims to be a salesman.

“They might be legitimate, but if someone comes to your door claiming to be a salesman, you should always contact the police right away to have them checked out,” he said.

Legitimate salesmen should carry identification, along with a business license from the city and county in which they are operating.

“If they cannot produce these things, then you should definitely call the police right away,” Lovell said.

Lovell said they also contacted the Kirby company in Mississippi and were told that while their sales associates often travel in pairs, according to company police, no more than one salesperson at a time should ever enter a home.

Anyone with information on the case should contact Lovell at the Loxley Police Department, 251-964-6001.