Door-to-door alert: Sticker patrol?

Darren in Arbor Heights e-mailed to share this:

We had a solicitor come to our house tonight about 7:45p to tell us that he was working with SPD to let people know about some burglaries off of 35th.  He said he wasn’t trying to sell us anything but wanted us to put an ADT sign in our window.  We have a no soliciting sign on our gate, but he still cam in.  He didn’t have an ADT shirt on.  It was some other logo.  I asked him for a card and he said he wasn’t selling anything and that he didn’t have one.

32 Replies to "Door-to-door alert: Sticker patrol?"

  • LHR June 7, 2010 (10:17 pm)

    We had a similar thing happen about a week or so ago. We’re on 37th Ave in AH. We told him No Thanks and he left without another comment. He was a young guy.

  • d June 7, 2010 (10:39 pm)

    Kind of sketchy. If I were Darren, I would contact the SW Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator and ask him if he has solicited such help. He and SPD might appreciate the information.

    The link for Benjamin Kinlow is here:
    http://www.seattle.gov/police/precincts/southwest/prevention.htm

  • Darren June 7, 2010 (10:42 pm)

    Young guy with black hair ?

  • desertdweller June 7, 2010 (10:51 pm)

    We just had the guy coming around as well at Barton and 35th. He couldn’t provide any identification and really didn’t want to take no for an answer when my husband told him he didn’t trust him because he couldn’t provide any business cards, etc.

  • 35th June 7, 2010 (10:51 pm)

    Also had that happen today. I live on 35th by the 4-way stop at 106th, he came by saying the samething. I told him I wasn’t interested, and after about 3 “no’s” he left.

  • LyndaB June 7, 2010 (11:27 pm)

    it could another way for them to tag your house. it just screams ‘i don’t really have ADT”.

  • JanS June 8, 2010 (1:58 am)

    and has anyone contacted ADT and asked if they know anything about this?

  • Brian June 8, 2010 (3:16 am)

    Walk him out to the front sidewalk, point out a neighbor he should visit, using your cell, call 911 and follow him. When the police arrive at your house, have your house mate give the police your cell Number so they can locate you. It tajes a little thinking ahead. You can also tell him you’ll call him, type his number into your phone, get a picture of him while you are at it. When he leaves call police, show them the picture.

  • Bonnie June 8, 2010 (6:48 am)

    Sounds like a way to tag houses to me.

  • Darren June 8, 2010 (7:05 am)

    D- my wife works for SPD and she said that they don’t work with anyone for security systems.

  • kg June 8, 2010 (7:27 am)

    In addition to the excellent ideas of Brian, I would tell them that you already have an alarm system as well as cameras that are recording with the data being kept off site.

  • BrianF June 8, 2010 (8:16 am)

    He stopped by Puget Ridge neighborhood about two weeks ago. He insisted that he was just doing marketing and that a sales person should have stopped by earlier.

    I actually talked with him for about 5 minutes about ADT and he didn’t really seem to know technical details about how ADT works, but he did know about as much as you could from a pamphlet.

    I wish I could remember the company on his shirt. He was wearing a name badge on a landyard and the logo on the name badge matched the one on shirt and his folder he was carrying.

  • mpento June 8, 2010 (9:12 am)

    Maybe 3-4 weeks ago I came home to a bright orange flier on my door. It was just a typed flyer with no logos or anything. It claimed it was SPD raising awareness that there had been some burglaries in the neighborhood. It was annoying because they left the flier on my door and some of my neighbors too like a tag for nobody is home.

  • westie June 8, 2010 (9:19 am)

    Don’t answer the door.

  • Nate June 8, 2010 (9:28 am)

    I live in AH off 35th and 108th, and we were robbed 2 weeks ago during the day. There’s definitely folks casing the neighborhood.

  • tincanrocket June 8, 2010 (9:47 am)

    Snap photos( w/ your phone) of anyone that is selling anything that you do not know that comes to your door. It is a good fail safe.

  • Amanda June 8, 2010 (9:58 am)

    Yep, same thing at 23rd and Cambridge last night. Young blond guy with a lanyard. Told me he came from the neighbors, however, I kinda believed him.

    However, when I came home from out of town on Sunday, there was a comforter on my front porch bench, and my cat sitter said she saw a Subway bag sitting there as well. The person must have been hanging out on Saturday because my husband left Friday, cat sitter on Saturday and I came home on Sunday. Creepy and weird.

  • Gina June 8, 2010 (10:25 am)

    Blonde guy with lanyard came by (35th/Morgan), I thought he was with ADT and he just wanted to place a sticker in our window, said it was free. He had heard that our neighborhood had a string of robberies. I asked him if he could leave info and he wouldn’t.

  • J June 8, 2010 (10:35 am)

    Arbor Heights
    I saw the same two “salesman” as reported on 5/29. Two young black males, early twenties (both skinny, one light skinned, on a little darker) both dressed alike with khaki pants, dark blue shirts with red under shirts hanging out. No ID’s. They parked their black Chrysler?? minivan -license 475W**- next to Arbor Heights School and sat there and rolled either a joint or tobacco cigarette which they shared as they slowly walked around the corner on 39th Ave SW. The only thing they were carrying was a camera. No clipboard, no paperwork etc. They walked around the corner and returned less than 10 minuted later.
    I also saw these same two men a couple of months earlier on SW 98th St and about 41st Ave SW. This day they were slowly walking and just standing around looking. They walk, stand and look, walk, stand and look etc. They never knocked on any doors or tried making solicitations. They acted very suspicious then and didn’t look at me and turned their back as I passed.
    So either they are the two laziest salesman ever or they are players in the game.
    ps Van has no business logos whatsoever

  • homedk June 8, 2010 (11:00 am)

    @mpento: Benjamin Kinlow, the Crime Prevention Coordinator for our area, does distribute a 2-sided bright gold-colored flyer to homes in neighborhoods that have had recent burglaries. His flyers say “BURGLARY ALERT” at the top & have his contact info at the end of the 2nd page. They contain some prevention tips & info about the Blockwatch program. If the flyer you received looks like that, it’s legit. You can contact him to find out more details about the incident(s) that prompted the distribution of the flyers & he can help your neighborhood set up a Blockwatch if you don’t have one.

  • Jay June 8, 2010 (11:19 am)

    Well, about two weeks ago I had someone who identified himself as an employee of Pinnacle Security systems come to my home (35th/Gatewood neighborhood). I spoke with him for about 15-20 minutes and thought he was legit. He was wearing a ball cap, shirt, and lanyard ID all with the company’s logo.

    My home is secured with an ADT system already and he really seemed to be trying to explain the benefits of their systems over ADT’s. I do tend to be leery of situations like this, but didn’t feel this fellow was trying to “case” my home. He was professional and seemed to have a decent understanding of what he was selling.

    Just mentioning this since some of you may have come across individuals with a similar description and wanted to elaborate on my experience which did not feel like there was any sinister intent other than trying to sell me on a product.

  • bsmomma June 8, 2010 (1:59 pm)

    I think if you are a block watch captain, crime prevention coordinator, etc…… putting brightly colored flyers on someones door, porch or anywhere visible is a bad idea! If some crepes were walking by, scopig the neighborhood, a flyer on the porch is a good indication that no one is home. Maybe start an e-mail chain or stick the flyer in the mailbox.
    P.S.
    I Love the idea about telling them you have cameras filming the premises and being recorded at an off site location! That’s AWESOME!

  • MAS June 8, 2010 (3:31 pm)

    Regarding putting stuff on my door, my gate or generally being helpful by putting up something that indicates that I’ve not been home to pull it down – PLEASE DO NOT HELP ME IN THIS WAY.

    It’s kind of laughable that in the name of making things more secure, we have folks tagging houses of people who may be on vacation, proving that they are away from the home.

  • Nanda June 8, 2010 (4:16 pm)

    The same at 23rd and Barton. Blond guy, blue shirt with a logo saying Elite, I believe. I have ADT and he wanted to know if I knew someone else that wanted. Could not provide any card or papers saying he is not selling only advertising, someone else would come later. Kind weird, why would you waste your time if you are not selling? Plus I already have the service. I did not see where he went, but the next time I’ll be more alert.

  • ElevenTruckmen June 8, 2010 (4:28 pm)

    I had a friend who sold security systems for a short time. The companies business model was to send out via mail or go door to door with fliers that had the neighborhood crime stats printed on them, no knocking just drop and go. To make a more dramatic effect it was normally printed on bright red or orange paper with a heading about recent burglaries. The marketing director targeted neighborhoods that had recently had a (1) or more burglaries in the recent past by looking in police blotters. The fliers didn’t have the company on them or any contact info just stats. A few days later with the seeds of fear planted the sales crew would go door to door and talk about the recent crime in the area. Selling fear is the game they play. If I remember right no one is allowed to put anything in a mailbox except the homeowner or a mailman. I could be wrong on that. The salesmen who knocked were always decked out and professional looking with lots of literature and order forms, not like these clowns.

  • d June 8, 2010 (4:39 pm)

    ADT is in the process of buying out Broadview Security, which recently bought out Brinks. I wonder if Elite is another company being bought out by ADT?

    Folks can always call the company and make their complaint directly . Might have more of an impact if a number of folks do that I would imagine.

    As for the Crime Prevention Coordinator putting flyers out: it is only done after a burglary on streets without a Block Watch. Ar least that is my understanding. So, if there are SPD fliers on your door step, the bad guys have all ready figured out vulnerabilities on your street. On the off-chance people have neighbors who are around when they aren’t, an active BW might help the vulnerability. And the SPD flyering would cease, if I understand correctly.

    Just a thought.

  • Kelly K June 8, 2010 (7:09 pm)

    “maybe…stick the flyer in the mailbox…”

    I’m a block watch captain and I got chewed out by my mailman for putting fliers my neighbors’ boxes—it’s a federal offense you know…

    Emails and phone calls are definitely more work and definitely the way to go.

  • gyngersnap June 9, 2010 (9:25 am)

    We’re on 36th near Henderson, a popular neighborhood for “solicitors.” In fact, one of these ADT guys came to our door a month or so ago. We bought a simple No Solicitors sign from True Value hardware right after that and put it on our front gate. Not one stranger has knocked on our door since.

  • T June 9, 2010 (10:51 am)

    I live on 36th in Gatewood and saw what is probably the blond guy described above covering the block Monday afternoon. I was surprised he didn’t come to my house (not that we’d answer), though we have Broadview & “no solicitors” signs posted.

  • Audrey June 9, 2010 (11:15 am)

    This happened to one of my neighbors — we are near the water towers FYI. I just spoke with ADT and they do have “authorized dealers,” not “ADT advertisers,” who will come out to ADT customers; however, they should be credentialed and at least have a last name. Sounds as if this guy has headed north a bit but our diligence in not engaging is important.

  • Jackie June 9, 2010 (4:41 pm)

    Young guy with dark hair came to my house as well, though I didn’t answer the door. Walnut Ave near WS High School. He went to all my neighbors. Had a box of something…perhaps stickers.

  • Matt June 10, 2010 (7:30 pm)

    A few days ago there was a guy with a ‘badge’ and an ADT sticker on a white notebook loitering around at the corner of 36th & Cloverdale, south of Thistle.

    I took a short VIDEO CLIP of him:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-nKcHblkHs

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