Identifying Door-to-Door Sales Scams: First Impression

When identifying a door-to-door sales scam, you need to be wary of your first impression. Your gut reaction isn't always the best way to gauge whether you can trust someone who rings your doorbell.

Things to Watch Out For

When you think of a con artist, chances are you picture someone who looks sketchy, creepy, or just plain weird. You expect that you'd be able to tell just by looking at someone whether or not they are trustworthy. However, this usually isn't the case.

Con artists also know what you expect of a regular door-to-door salesperson (someone over-eager and professional, for example), and try to avoid that stereotype as well.

Because of this, you're likely to come across a con artist who looks honest and safe, like a high school or college-age female, or perhaps an older man or woman. Chances are good that a person involved in a door-to-door sales scam will be dressed in a casual manner to make you feel more at ease. An honest salesperson will likely bring a briefcase or various promotional and informational materials, whereas a con artist will usually appear carrying little or nothing.

What You Can Do

1. First of all, don't open the door unless you know who is knocking. It's sad that you might end up turning away a neighbor or a potential friend this way, but unfortunately door-to-door sales scams have forced us to be cautious at all times.

2. It's a good rule of thumb to get acquainted with your neighbors as soon as you can when you move into a new neighborhood, so that you know who is a neighbor and who is not.

3. Try to observe the person after they leave your house. See if they approach other houses in your neighborhood.

4. Take notes about the person's appearance and behavior, and the things they talked about. This might come in handy in the future.

5. If you have suspicions that someone walking around your neighborhood is involved in a door-to-door sales scam, don't be afraid to call a neighbor or the police.

6. Visit the Better Business Bureau (BBB) if you think you might be a victim of a scam.

Want to read about a personal experience with a door-to-door sales scam? Check this out: Warning: Don't Open the Door to Magazine Sellers for Unlimited Sales, Inc.