PORTLAND, Ore. -- A Portland woman wants to warn you about a cable technician whom she says took her money, so you don't fall victim to a service person trying to get your cash.



She said she is nervous to show her face or use her real name, so she is going by the name "Daria."



Daria said she asked to have her Internet and cable service transferred to her new home in Northeast Portland in February.



She said the technician, an employee of a third-party company doing work for Comcast, came in and did the installations.



"Then, at the end, he said, 'OK, I need payment,'" she said.



She told him she thought she was going to pay on her monthly bill, Daria said.



"And he said, 'Oh, this is really awkward. I hate it when they do that. It always puts me in a weird position. But you're going to need to pay me,'" she said.



He wanted a check for $170, and she needed to leave the "to" line blank, Daria said.



Daria said she expressed concern.



"And he said, 'Oh, my gosh, they put me in this awkward position all the time. I really need to talk to them about that. But it's awkward because I can't leave until you pay me,'" she said.



Suddenly, for Daria, it wasn't about money, but her safety, since she was home alone with someone who won't leave, she said.



"You have a strange man in your house and you want him out," she added.



Daria complied with his demands.

She said he quickly cashed the check in his name, not in the company's name.



She said she contacted Comcast by online chat, and was told that the money from the check had been credited to her account.



She waited for the credit to show up on her account, but she said, it never did.



She contacted Comcast again, this time, by phone, and learned that there was a problem.



The Portland Police Bureau said six customers are victims and detectives are investigating the case.



Comcast provided this statement:



"Comcast is sorry that an employee with a third-party contracting firm inappropriately asked customers to provide up-front payment for services. After a thorough investigation, Comcast credited the impacted customers with the amount they provided to this individual, and we gave them an additional one-month service credit."



The third-party contractor first suspended its employee, then fired him.



Comcast is looking into the chat conversation between Daria and the company representative to see if there was a misunderstanding during the chat.



Daria wants to alert people to this kind of problem, to prevent future crimes.



"Something as simple as somebody installing your cable, I just don't want that to happen to anybody," she said.



You may want to check ahead of time to see how you will make the payment when a technician comes to your house for a service. If the technician takes a different tack than agreed upon, you will want to try to contact the company immediately to verify, if possible.



Daria said she is no longer going to meet with service people when she is by herself at home.



"That brought me to a different level," she said "I just don't feel comfortable."