[2001ragtop]

Tuesday night at 7:30pm, my doorbell rang. A guy came to the door and he came to my house to tell me that I qualify to refinance my house at a lower interest rate.

This guy looked about age 60. He knew my name. (I was not home yet and he talked to my wife). He asked my wife if I was home. He even spoke in both English and Spanish and he hinted he might come back on Saturday. My wife looked at him with a face that said "You can't be serious". When my wife gave him this look, he began to speak Spanish thinking she didn't understand English.

When this guy came over, my wife had been in the middle of feeding our 6-month old baby.

Now I am pretty sure, that if I had been home when he rang the doorbell, I would have gotten angry. I probably would have written down his license plate while he watches me write it down.

Then I would say you're going to go to jail if you come back here again because I am going to press charges that you are stalking me and my family.

What would YOU have done if this happened to you???

[evan]

I personally wouldve just told the guy to kick rocks. To me it sounds like a sales scheme. Anyone can get small amounts of information in ways no one ever even thinks about.

[blackknight]

Probably isn't hard for someone to find out your name and address. And there's no harm in knocking on your door. Unless you have a no trespassing/no soliciting sign posted, then there's something to be mad about.

Guy was probably doing some sort of sales scheme. If he comes back tell him no thanks and please don't come back. He's probably just trying to earn a living. Cant blame the guy for trying.

And I know, that sounds incredibly naive, but I'm giving the guy the benefit of the doubt.

[Sir Nuke]

Originally Posted by 2001ragtop

and my family.

What would YOU have done if this happened to you???

IF I were home, I would have told him "no thanks" and did the things you mentioned about getting his plate number and all. I have NEVER heard of any REAL banking instatution go door-to-door selling refinancing. I would certainly KNOW it was some sort of SCAM.....or theives mearly trying to case your house to come back and rob it.

I would call the local P.D. and report it.....could be a RING casing houses as mentioned before.

[evan]

Originally Posted by Sir Nuke

IF I were home, I would have told him "no thanks" and did the things you mentioned about getting his plate number and all. I have NEVER heard of any REAL banking instatution go door-to-door selling refinancing. I would certainly KNOW it was some sort of SCAM.....or theives mearly trying to case your house to come back and rob it.

I would call the local P.D. and report it.....could be a RING casing houses as mentioned before.

This is of course a good possibility too.

[GunnyG]

Sounds like you need a dog. 'Cause this guy could be casing your place. A stranger rings your door while you're not home, and your wife listening to his routine @ 7:30 PM? No effin way! It's dark where I am @ 5:30, my wife would never have answered, without tucking my pistol in her bra.

[The Blue Angel]

Originally Posted by Sir Nuke

IF I were home, I would have told him "no thanks" and did the things you mentioned about getting his plate number and all. I have NEVER heard of any REAL banking instatution go door-to-door selling refinancing. I would certainly KNOW it was some sort of SCAM.....or theives mearly trying to case your house to come back and rob it.

I would call the local P.D. and report it.....could be a RING casing houses as mentioned before.

+1000 Ask your neighbors if this guy did the same thing with them!! Also check and see if there is suspicious vehicles parked or driving around the neighborhood!!

[2001ragtop]

Where I live we do have an HOA and I reported it.

To feel safer, if he comes back I'm just going to be NICE to him and say sorry we already have a financial planner and we aren't interested.

But I WILL get his license plate. I will memorize it, not write it down. I might even take his business card. My wife said he offered his card. Perhaps his real name is on it.

He PROBABLY is down on his luck but he should know it looks suspicious. It was late, and dark outside. That's Not Professional.

We do have a sign that says No Solicitors but you can't see it at night and the sign is small.

[SirMike]

I RARELY answer the door unless I am expecting someone. Not to say I don't check to see who is out there when someone does come a knocking. But like I tell my wife and kids . . . IF it is someone we know (a friendly) then they have our phone numbers and can give us a call ahead of time or call us if we don't answer the door. My friends and family know not to "pop in" without calling. Time to time, I will open the door for a neighbor I know very well, but that is the only time. I won't even answer the door for people who appear to be PD or whatever. If it is an emergency they can break the door down. I will of course have already called 911 to verify they are real/legit and have a pistol/rifle ready in case they are not on the up and up.

You can not be too careful. Especially with your family.

[Camaro_OK]

First of all, I would tell my wife not to open the door for anyone at night when I am not there. If you all have a peep hole, have her check who is there and if she doesn't recognize the person she can yell "We're not interested!" If you don't have a peep hole, I'd have her yell through the door and ask who it is. If it is a salesperson, just have her tell them she's not interested. They should leave. Second, this is a scam person. He either wants in your house to scope the contents or sell you something with cash up front and you never get anything out of it. We have had some of the nicest people come to our house and try to sell us security systems for our house. When they tell me one of our neighbors bought the same system, I ask what their name and address is. That usually scares them off because they don't know - they made it up for me to think they are telling me the truth. Lastly, unless it is a Boy Scout, Girl Scout or some kid selling cookie dough, I just say to whoever shows up on my doorstep, "No thanks. I'm not interested." And that's if I even open the door.

[Wild Bill]

There is a scam going on, here on Long Island, where someone knocks on senior citizen's doors and states they are from a utility company or a new neighbor, etc. The front person gets you away from your front door by "showing you" something or requesting water, while a second person sneaks in and robs them blind. This all happens in broad daylight.

Be smart no matter the time of day.

[Decibel JJ]

A home owners info including name, house specs, purchase price, taxable value, Etc. is usually available on the county assessors website and is publicly available if you know where to look.

I have seen a lot of jobs where a door-to-door salesman will get people to goto the office and if whatever deal closes, get a commision.

I usually just dont answer the door.

[Overflow]

Originally Posted by Wild Bill

There is a scam going on, here on Long Island, where someone knocks on senior citizen's doors and states they are from a utility company or a new neighbor, etc. The front person gets you away from your front door by "showing you" something or requesting water, while a second person sneaks in and robs them blind. This all happens in broad daylight.

Be smart no matter the time of day.

Sadly this happens in Tampa too.

[jmaynard]

Originally Posted by 2001ragtop

Tuesday night at 7:30pm, my doorbell rang. A guy came to the door and he came to my house to tell me that I qualify to refinance my house at a lower interest rate.

This guy looked about age 60. He knew my name. (I was not home yet and he talked to my wife). He asked my wife if I was home. He even spoke in both English and Spanish and he hinted he might come back on Saturday. My wife looked at him with a face that said "You can't be serious". When my wife gave him this look, he began to speak Spanish thinking she didn't understand English.

When this guy came over, my wife had been in the middle of feeding our 6-month old baby.

Now I am pretty sure, that if I had been home when he rang the doorbell, I would have gotten angry. I probably would have written down his license plate while he watches me write it down.

Then I would say you're going to go to jail if you come back here again because I am going to press charges that you are stalking me and my family.

What would YOU have done if this happened to you???

This is an easy one. If you live inside the city limits chances are that they require a permit for door to door soliciting. Check your codes and ALWAYS ask to see the permit. It they do not have one, call the police and let them deal with it.

If this is NOT the case, or even if it is, do what I do and answer the door armed. Once they see that they usually leave when asked.