Many individuals who are selling things door-to-door are completely truthful and have a tough job. However, not all are, and some want to do more than just to get you hopelessly hooked on infernally delicious cookies. Numerous door-to-door scams are being reported nationwide, so the number of them active in many areas may be growing.
Fraud artists running door-to-door scams on the rise
Many people end up needing payday loans to survive after getting hit by some kind of expensive scam. There are a lot more door-to-door scams going on, according to NBC News, and it could cost you thousands of dollars.
Police force officials and the Better Business Bureau are reporting increased activity nationwide in the number of complaints about people who sell things door-to-door and never deliver the promised goods, among other things. Intimidating sales tactics are employed by some of the perpetrators to get individuals to shell out for whatever good or service they\'re selling.
Make sure you know when it is a scam and when it is real; there are a ton of truthful salesmen that are actually trying to sell you something legitimate.
Cons for magazines
There have been over 1,000 complaints this year at the BBB from door-to-door magazine scams. That number was only 1,300 for all of 2011, which means the magazine frauds have grown to be the most common.
Door-to-door salesmen show up and offer periodical subscriptions. After you pay for them, they never actually come. A ton of times, they disguise the scam behind some kind of educational fundraiser.
Lamar County, Colorado, according to CBS Denver, the Dallas Fort Worth Area, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Spokane, Washington, according to KHQ, are all areas where bogus periodical subscriptions have been showing up recently. They are just a couple examples too since there have been a bunch of warnings issued in areas.
Looking at other cons
Other common door-to-door frauds, according to NBC News, consist of home repair scams and \"security system\" frauds. The latter could possibly be either a \"test\" of a security system or door-to-door burglar alarm sales, which just like the periodical scams will result in a system that never arrives or one that is poorly installed and woefully inadequate.
There are some legitimate sales, but a lot of them are not, and it can be hard to turn away a poor kid who needs additional cash. Consumer Reports points out that alarm frauds and periodical scams are much more common in the summertime when university and high school students are employed by scam businesses to sell you stuff.
It could be hard to stay away from Girl Scout cookies, so avoid those too.
