Berkeley Parents Network: Door-to-Door Sales & Solicitations

Berkeley Parents Network

Door-to-Door Sales & Solicitations

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Parenting, Families, & the Community > Door-to-Door Sales & Solicitations

Fundraising scam for Berkeley High School
Young man insisting he needs access to our backyard
Kids going door to door selling magazines

Fundraising scam for Berkeley High School

November 2006

False Fundraising Alert
About this time every year people seem to hear from an individual by the name of Marcus Robinson who claims that he is fundraising for a tutoring program called BASIC, and is serving the Berkeley schools. This is not true, in fact Jim Slemp has made it clear that he is not permitted on the Berkeley High School campus. He has been known to actually set up meetings in the front corridors of the administration building, to reinforce the image that he is connected to BHS. I met him about three years ago, and he looked like he was just stepping out of a meeting with one of the vice principals. He has been doing this for years and is very convincing. Mr. Robinson will probably show you a letter signed by school board director John Selawsky. The letter is real, but was written for one specific project that John believed to be true at the time, before we began to hear stories of questionable fundraising attempts going back 20 years.

Please report any attempts by this man to the Berkeley Police Department Fraud Division 981-5900. Ask for copies of any material he shows you.

If you are interested in making a donation to support the work going on at Berkeley High School or any of the other school sites, there are funding mechanisms available through the PTA's, and at Berkeley High, the Berkeley High School Development Group is a great way to support the parent efforts at BHS: www.bhsdg.org
BUSD Parent

Young man insisting he needs access to our backyard

May 2006

We had a strange experience this week, and thought we should post it here and ask if anyone else knows about a scam for people to be able to get access to your house. A young man told us he had been hired by a family trust to help solve neighborhood problems, but that he would need access to our backyard in order to get the problem solved.

We were uncomfortable with this right away and told him ''no,'' but he attempted to convince us that getting access to our backyard was the ONLY way he could solve the problem. To me this seemed ridiculously fishy and I wanted to both notify others of this possible scam and to find out if anyone has had a similar experience.

We live in the Oakland Hills, but that doesn't mean this experience is limited to one area. Perhaps I'm just being paranoid, but I think in this case, better safe than sorry. Thanks for reading

Wow, that's scary -- thank you for sharing your experience with us. I think you did just the right thing -- don't let them in your back yard! If this was legitamate, you probably would have received some kind of written notice from the ''trust'' explaining their work and letting neighbors know that someone would be in the area surveying backyards. We live in Berkeley, and have a creek on our property. The city recently sent us a letter asking us if they could have access to our property to survey the creek. We were given a yes/no option, and many weeks notice. I think this person is just trying to case your house. Good for you for standing up to them. Next time, also call the police and let them know Kim

good for you, having good antennae for weirdness! If people want to get onto my property they need to cough up a name, and an ID that matches, as well as a believable reason for being there. I doesn't sound like your scammer had any of the three.

A related scam is the guy trolling the Berkeley Hills lately. He's holding himself out as an inspector for City of Berkeley. He's NOT, and is casing homes while he trys to hard-sell you on getting your street no painted on the curb in front of your home. He was very aggressive w/me after he painted the curb without my ok and when I asked for ID he ran. I called the police to find that he and a few accomplices have a history of breaking and entering. now a member of my neighborhood watch

Kids going door to door selling magazines

Dec 2005

does anyone have any information about the kids (or, young adults probably in their late teens/early twenties) who go around selling magazines. the pair that recently came to my house said that they were sent out here by there company from the midwest, working on commission, to learn how to get experience with face to face communications, speaking skills, trust, etc.

i listened to the young man's speal for about 10 minutes, and even offered to buy the magazines until he told me that he needed either cash or check with the order. when i told him no he got a bit defensive. asking why i can't have faith in the lord, offering a blessing to someone who needs it, that he needs the check to get his commission and that one of the to traits he needs to show is his trustworthiness. i tried to tell him that i'd be happy to help if could just leave me information on the company, yet his response was that i obviously didn't trust him and why didn't i trust him? he even proceeded to show me how one of my neighbors gave him a $290 check.

unfortunately i can't remember the name of the company he said he was working for. does anyone know anything about these groups? i'm happy to help people out but absolutely hate being put on the spot like that as if i'm the one doing something wrong and being ungenerous. -skeptical for sure!

I NEVER, NEVER, EVER give anyone money at the door. If they can't leave me the info so I can decide later, no deal! Sounds like your visitors were a scam. That said, I put a sign on my door that says ''NO SOLICITORS''. Now, no one comes knocking trying to sell me anything. No political people, no kids, no one. Much better. anon

I had the same experience -- these young people must be spread throughout the area, as I live rather far away from the poster. The young woman was very smooth and rehearsed, working from a script. She did not reveal that she was selling magazines until the very end.

There is no way for you to be sure that you will receive magazines in this situation; in other words, it could be a scam. A number of ''liberal progressive'' buttons were pushed in the scripted pitch that indicated that my neighborhood had been chosen rather carefully, since this was not a person from the community. There was also a very intelligent psychological method working, I will paraphrase from memory: ''I have been coached to talk to you in a way that will not be aggressive or make you angry. Are you mad at me yet? (charming smile)'' Then of course it is difficult to be ''mad''.

If you would give money to a person on the street and you do not resent a potential scam, then you could go ahead and ''purchase magazines''. But on the spur of the moment, there is really no easy or ''polite'' way to check up on information. But this a community problem. If one person in the community (the neigbor who wrote a check for $190 -- was there any way to verify that on the spot?) buys the pitch, the doorknockers will invade in earnest. Such doorknocking is an interruption of work or private life and makes a person reluctant to go to the door at all, thus disturbing normal social relations, preys on seniors, etc. etc.

In short, given my last statement, I would urge everyone on this list to resist giving money to door-to-door solicitors who do not represent a community or familiar organization, who ask you to purchase magazines or other items with no verifiable connection to a known organization, and who use obvious psychological and sociological calculation in their pitches. Kids selling stuff from the local school are a different matter (though some might argue that they too are a nuisance), ecological or other activists asking for money yet another (and again, one could argue against such practices), but these recent cases seem to me an obvious example of something that needs to be resisted on a community level. doesn't like to be shilled

I have had two such visits at the door in the past month. The first one was a skinny young man who looked cold and scared and who rattled off a memorized spiel about the magazines (including saying that he went to the ''University of Berkeley''). I felt sorry for him but I had fallen for this before and wasn't going for it. He was very hard to get rid of. The second was a very outgoing young woman who stuck her hand out as soon as I opened the door and said ''Hi, I'm Susan, what's your name?'' I impulsively said my name, which she then used at the doors of all my neighbors (''I've just talked to your neighbor Ginger, and she bought maqazines and recommended I talk to you too!'') Of course I didn't buy any magazines. In fact, when I told her politely I was sorry but I wasn't buying magazines, and I was in the middle of putting my kid to bed, she proceeded to yell at me that she wasn't selling anything, and then yelled some more about how I don't care about her kids, because she is just a young mother trying to make a living. I had to literally close the door on her while she was still yelling at me.

When I was in college I had a friend who worked for one of these outfits. They exploit kids with a promise of big money and then ship them off to different states and drop them off in a neighborhood they've never been in before and pick them up many, many hours later. The kids are working on commission. If you do a google search you can read more about this. It's a problem in a lot of cities and has been around for a long time. Ginger

Addendum: after doing a google search I found Parent Watch website which is a non-profit org that helps the kids that get sucked into the door-to-door business: http://www.parentwatch.org/ You can make a contribution, or you can give kids the website when they come to your door looking cold and scared. There is actually an email address on that website where a kid can write to to get a ride home. Ginger

I don't know where you live, but in our neighborhood (south Berkeley) neighbors have alerted me to the fact that these are usually scams. And the ''salespeople'' often tell you that your neighbors are participating/have bought something -- it's a great tactic to inspire confidence. I am ashamed to admit that we once fell for an earnest young man from whom we ordered some children's magazines. The magazines never showed up, and the voice mail for the telephone number that we were given was always full. It wasn't worth pursuing further, but we NEVER buy anything from our front door anymore. I find it easy to say simply, ''I'm sorry, we have a house policy never to give money at the door (this applies to fundraisers for good causes as well as people selling things). If you want to give me a brochure to look at, that's fine.'' We do give money to charity, but we seek the charities out, and we buy magazines from sources that we identify. Other neighbors actually ask the door-to-door folks for identification, and indicate that they are going to investigate whether they are leigimate. A defensive or hostile reaction to any kind of question, especialy about payment, is a pretty good indication that this is not a legitimate concern. Bottom line is, DON'T FALL FOR IT. It's bad for you and it's also bad for your neighbors, since your area could be known as one where people are easily suckered. And you have no way of knowing whether you are being cased for more serious crimes. Anon

This scam is as old as the hills. Unfortunately it is the kids who are really getting scammed by the people who send them out to raise money ''for college,'' ''for summer camp'' and other bs. They raise the money and then never get any of it. And they are well-trained by their ''sponsors'' in making affluent people feel guilty. Known kids doing the door-to-door

They came to our door a few years ago selling children's books. He was a nice enough kid, ''out here from the midwest to earn some money for college.'' He promised us it was a one time only purchase and we'd get our books in a month or so. Well, the books came (after about 4 months) and then about a month later we received another book in the mail! We were suddenly enrolled in one of those book of the month things. I sent the book back but then they started billing me for it. Then they billed me again, which I sent back with a note that I had returned the book that I had never even ordered. Then they sent a threatening note saying they were going to turn it over to a collection agency, which I also sent back with a threatening note of my own explaining why I hadn't. And THEN, it just so happened that another one of those kids came to my door, and I let him have it! Boy was he bummed he came to my door that day! But he told me he would look into it and after that the threatening letters stopped.

I don't think they're kids looking to earn some money for college, and you will end up getting more in the mail. On the other hand, the books we got were great and my son absolutely loves them. Jill

I read your message and wanted to let you know about a national scam that people (mostly young adults) take door to door. Often times these young adults are from a poor/under privaleged background, they are on commission, they are bused from town to town and city to city for months selling ''magazine subscriptions'' or ''book donations'' to help various orginazations. They work for companies like, United Family Circulation out of Georgia. Sometimes they profess to help major orgs. like The Boys and Girls Club of America, perhaps one close to your town/city. The odd thing is that they don't want you to write a check to that organization and they don't want you to put ''donation'' on the check. Just know that the money DOES NOT go to those organizations, and this is a scam.

One boy came to my door saying he was raising money for his baseball team to go to Japan for a tournement. He needed to sell, ''just four more subscriptions for a charity'' to make it there. I asked him what team he played for, and he said, ''the high school team''. I asked him were he lived, and he said, ''oh, just up the street.'' All the answers were vague or just flat out lies. Then I noticed that he had a gang-like tatoo on his knuckles, and I said that's unusual for a teenager in this area to have such a tatoo (I live in Orinda).

Lastly, if someone comes to your door you should ask them for a permit to sell door to door. Most cities like Berkeley and Orinda require this.

Check out the web-sites below regarding door-to-door magazine scams:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/magzn.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/17/AR2005081700684.html

And...if you hear these two names below from anyone who comes to your door this is the BIGGEST SCAM of ALL:

Recent complaints have centered on two Georgia companies, United Family Circulation and Ultimate Power Sales Inc., a subsidiary. Last year, Montgomery County police said residents in Chevy Chase had been asked to buy books from salespeople who falsely claimed to be collecting for charity on behalf of a University of Maryland athletic team. Buyers said they were asked to make checks out to Ultimate Power Sales. Glad I didn't give my money

I have also had these kids come to my door. One called American Community Services, Inc and the most recent called D&T Connections, Inc. Clearing House. The first time I ever encountered them, I was a student and could not afford to buy food to eat. When I said I could not, the young man got very rude (saying I was predujiced, etc). I was very turned off, and even asked for the company info to lodge a complaint against him. The next time they came around a few years later, I really hesitated. When I faltered at the check or cash, the young woman was very upfront about the company(American Services, Inc.) and showed me the receipt I would get with all the contact info. So I caved, I got a phone call fom the company a day later confirming my order and I got my magazines, 7-8 weeks later. I also called the company & reviewed their website. The D & T Connections was just recent and not enough time has passed for recpt of those mags (husband spoke with that young man, so I'm not sure how nice he was). And we did receive a phone call confirming the order. I'm always uncomfortable giving $$ to door salesmen/women, but it seems like such a good service. So far we have not seen any problems result from giving money to these kids. If it feels uncomfortable, feel justified in not giving in, especially if they become rude. kukana

I was going to ask the same question. It seems that every year in the fall and winter, I get a slew of these kids knocking on the door. Some were very polished and convincing but seemed pretty put out if I didn't want to purchase anything. I sincerely wanted to help out. Last year, I simply made a contribution rather than order magazines after listening to a long schpiel. The young woman selling it seemed positively huffy. My neighbor found my check torn up in her mailbox. I won't be doing that again.

We have purchased magazines from this organization. We did it the first time on faith, hoping that we were not being scammed. It took a little while but our magazines did indeed arrive and the same woman has shown up every year since. She just showed up yesterday as a matter of fact and I told her that we were magazined-out but I would donate. She said that for people who didn't need magazines that a $19 donation is what they were requesting to the organizaiton that sponsors them. So, yes, they are legit and the people who do the selling are very friendly and well trained I've found. - keeping the faith

I'm afraid that I've come to the point where I turn all door-to-door salesepople and fundraisers away without donating and without even listening to their robotic speal- it can go on forever and I feel manipulated by most of them. If it's a charity or cause that I think that I might in fact want to give to, I ask them to leave me some information, and I ask them to put their name and any other identification on it so that if I do send it in I can credit them and they can get their commission.

But not all, even organizations that I respect, will leave information which I think is outrageous, commission or not. They claim to not have enough copies or to not be allowed to do it. Some will get downright rudely pushy. I have found Calpirg reps, an organization that I support, to be the worst. I'll shut the door on any rep who behaves that way, no matter what their cause as I say my last ''no thank you''. I got so mad one time at Calpirg that I actually wrote them a letter, got an apologetic response, but nothing changed.

That kid you've described was so way out of line that it sounds like it was all a fake and you would have been a fool to give him your money. But at the same time, I do think that it is only reasonable to pay for any magazine subscription out front if you believe that it is legitimate. anon

Out neighborhood gets canvassed so much by door to door solicitors that we now just cut them off immediately and tell them that because we get solicited so much we just tell everyone ''no thank you'' and wish them a good day.

Our block had some ''neighborhood watch'' type meetings recently and here's a few things we learned.

Anyone doing door to door soliciting in Oakland is supposed to get a permit from the City. If they are a legitimate door to door operation they will be able to produce the permit (I've already forgotten, but I think there are actually two documents they should have.) Something like 90% of solicitors do not have the required permit.

Some of these door to door folks are actually just casing your house to see if there is anything worth coming back to steal. The less time they're at your front door, the less likely they'll see something they like.

It sad, but I think you're right to be skeptical. A little over ten years ago, when I was in college, a similar thing occurred and a neighbor called the police. The ''saleskid'' was arrested shortly thereafter on a warrant for child molestation. I never found out what happened after that, but that was enough of a warning to me. older and wiser

I have never heard of door-to-ddor magazine sales actually delivering. I first encountered these sales folks in the early 80's in college dorms. The kids often use the, ''your neighbor ordered some!'' comment. I also found that if you said you wanted more info they would get defencsive and pull the ''Why don't you trust me?'' line. I never buy from these guys. I just don't trust the ones I have encountered. We don't buy anything or give out any money at the front door. - No Thank You

We once bought a magazine subscription from one of those ''door to door saleskids'' for some exorbitant price and decided never to do it again when we found out the company was a sham. It was not the kid's fault, it was whoever put her to work. We now have a policy of only buying from what we know are legitimate charities or from neighborhood kids we know. We don't open the door for ANYONE making sales. If they catch me outside the house, I tell them that I'll take their literature and make a donation online or otherwise. Been burned

Not to belabor the point or completely freak people out, but I thought I'd share some recent news. The man that has been charged with robbing, raping, and murdering a 90-year-old Lafayette woman (I believed it happened in Dec. 05) was selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door. This was reported in both the San Francisco Chronicle and the Contra Costa Times. Neither paper had information on what company he was working for. So, it could be he was lying about the subscriptions to case places, or he worked for one of these companies and used it as a way of casing places. Regardless, I would not entertain the thought of engaging these salespeople any more. Not worth even the minute risk. No More Solictors at My Door

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