Door-to-door alert: Magazine sellers

Just got a phone call from a resident in a neighborhood southwest of The Junction – saying two young woman are selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door, claiming to be raising money for a “trip to Holland” (a destination also mentioned in this recent alert). He says neighbors gave them money, then looked up the information online and found claims of a suspected scam, and “ran after them to get their checks back.” Past door-to-door alerts (including comments, where more stories usually emerge) are here; city rules for door-to-door solicitors are here.

JP August 22, 2009 (12:48 pm)

A kid named Wes just came by selling magazine subscriptions in the Youngstown area. He claimed to be earning a trip to London.

homedk August 22, 2009 (1:47 pm)

A neighbor from the block just west of Mount St. Vincent emailed us around 1 PM with a heads-up about someone that sounds like same person. They spotted him around 12:30 PM. Here is an excerpt from her email with a description:

A number of people have called about 12:30 noon on Saturday, reporting a young man in his 20’s, 6′ or so tall, white, wandering the neighborhood selling magazines with very old/out of date selling material. He’s just hanging out, cutting thru people’s yards and being too curious about open garages.

Creighton August 22, 2009 (3:13 pm)

A young man with the same description, white male mid 20’s, 6′ tall, dark short, hair, gray sweatshirt came to my door (Genesse Hill) at 2pm selling car wash cards for his soccer team (Washington Heat? or something?). Said his goal was 250 houses and asked me to tell him who else he should talk to in the neighborhood. I wasn’t thrilled to hear that my next door neighbor had told him to come to my house (he reported) and told him how long I’d lived in the neighborhood. Also mentioned his little sister was going to come through this area later today selling Girl Scout cookies. Don’t know why I answer the door anymore.

Mark August 22, 2009 (3:28 pm)

Ask to see their ID, if they don’t have one then grab a digital camera and take their picture. You are allowed to photograph anyone or anything on your own property of from almost any public property, such as a sidewalk or street.

coffee August 22, 2009 (4:32 pm)

ah, girl scout cookies, that’s a spring thing long done. A simple sign on my fence does the trick for me.

DALYDBL August 22, 2009 (4:39 pm)

4000 block of 38th SW, an early 20’s Caucasian male named “Raymond” came by for the second time. Black tshirt, tattoos on forearms, shaved head. Looked pretty dirty. He is with an African American who is also cutting through yards & alleys. Selling mags for his select soccer team with a flyer that looks 5 years old. Creeps.

Johnny August 23, 2009 (7:28 am)

Photos, people. Take your camera or phone to the door with you & get some snapshots of these guys.

Maybe we could have a “mugshot” section of the WSB? Not for accusatory purposes, but just as a record of who’s been coming through the neighborhoods soliciting lately?

homedk August 23, 2009 (1:21 pm)

Another neighbor emailed me late yesterday regarding an encounter that she had earlier in the day:

I had an encounter with this individual today. I had my doors open, airing out the house while doing dishes about 12:30pm.

He knocked, and when Iooked out of the kitchen, he was in my foyer … I stayed in the kitchen, told him to step back onto the porch … he apologized quickly, stepped to the porch, and said he was collecting for his soccer team.

Based on the house entry (and his quite nosily looking around the foyer), I told him that he could leave information about any website and I’d be happy to look at it. He said they had no website, so I said no to donation, and he got very irritated and left.

This is the 2nd (“nice turned rude” upon my not donating) person in their 20’s (the other was african american, a couple of weeks ago, asking for signatures and funding “because he was such a great guy” … I think there may have been magazines involved in that one, too, but again no website … and that one had to cross “wet paint – use the other door” signs to get to my front door).

Sigh.

FYI, we are in the 5000 block on 36th Ave SW, just south of Providence/Mount St. Vincent.

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