The doorbell rang and I eagerly opened the door expecting to pick up my dinner delivery. To my surprise, there was a young man standing at my door with the logo of a Solar company on his shirt. Yes, I was disappointed not to be picking up my awaited dinner, but there is a clear notice on my doorbell “No Solicitors”.
As nicely as I could muster, I told the young man, “I’m sorry but I’m not interested in purchasing solar today.”
“Wait a minute! You didn’t even hear what I have to say!” he blurted out. Obviously, the poor guy had just one too many “no’s” today.
“I’m not interested in solar. You don’t need to waste your time giving me a sales pitch. I’m not buying.”
“Let me ask you this … You own this house, don’t you? You have grandkids, right?”
I was hungry and these personal questions didn’t sit well with me. I stared at him, losing any empathy I previously had, and crossed my arms. He started explaining climate change and cost savings. He talked down to me as if I didn’t have two brain cells to fire off synapse.
I took a deep breath. “The answer is no. Please leave.” With that, I turned and went back into the house, but not fast enough to hear him say with a snide tone, “Thanks for being so nice to me.”
As I turned the lock on the door, a wave of guilt washed over me. The kid really did have a tough job. No one wants to talk to a door-to-door sales guy these days. Like me, most people have a ring camera and unlike me they probably look at the video before opening the door. I opened the door. Even though I have a sign that says no solicitors, I answered indicating an openness to the conversation.
Why would I feel guilty about that encounter? To be truthful, the guilt trip didn’t last long. But every day people try to use the guilt trip to try to get others to do their bidding. It’s called scamming.
Scammers are everywhere. They call your phone. They send you mail. They send you emails. They text you. Sometimes they are not the ones contacting you. You could contact a scammer shopping for contractors or online dating. They could even be an employee of a business you trust.
The following are some safety tips to help you avoid scammers.
- They get personal fast. It used to be called “friendly”, asking about family and what you do. These days, when those personal questions come quickly, the warning flag needs to be raised.
- They ask for money. “Move your money to protect it!” “Buy gold bars / BitCoin / or some other thing.” Anything unsolicited with this type of message is a scam.
- They pretend to be security agents. “Did you call about a suspicious purchase?” “Did you get an invoice from XXX that wasn’t yours?” If there is a security breach, there should be no problem with you looking up the company on your own and reporting the issue. No need to click a link in the email or provide the caller with your personal information.
- You’ve won XXX! Just send us the shipping fee to get your prize! Really? That’s no prize.
It gets harder when you are the one seeking the relationship. For example, when you are shopping for a contractor to do repairs around your house. I used to go by the “get three bids” rule. Now, before even calling for a bid, I check at least three sites on the contractor’s reputation. Then I have a list of questions to ensure we are on the same page with payments and who is responsible for injuries or damage. These days, I never go with the contractor who wants to be paid up front.
I learned my lesson the hard way. I was looking for a handy man to help out with some chores around the house. There was a young man on a popular app who was just starting out. I figured I’d help him out. I gave him the money to buy the materials, then never saw him again. Fortunately, it wasn’t an expensive lesson. Unfortunately, for the next young entrepreneur, my business will not be coming his way.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that in 2002 people lost $8.8 Billion to scammers. The top five scams in 2022 were imposters, online shopping, prizes, investments, and business opportunities. Scammers’ favorite ways to find people were social media and phone calls.
Dating sites have become a breeding ground for scammers. They are not available to meet, but text with you until you feel a connection. They build trust, then ask for money. According to the FTC, 70,000 Americans fell for a dating scam in 2022 at a cost of $1.3 Billion.
Was this kid trying to scam me? Who knows. But he was certainly trying to perfect the tools of the trade. Guess he should have been warned by the No Solicitors sign!
About a month or so ago, someone knocked on my door selling the same thing. I told him that I wasn’t interested, but he went on to tell me that my neighbor was getting those and they had set up an initial meeting to discuss the requirements. I told him, good for them, but I am not interested. He asked how much I was paying for electricity, and I told him $90-something for both electricity and gas. He said that was very low, and I replied, Yes, and I’m not interested in solar panels. I feel bad for them, but we need to be careful about scammers.
Edward, agreed. I don’t know how lucrative it can be to sell by knocking on doors these days. Even the folks sticking flyers on my door with out knocking can become annoying when I’m throwing away advertisements daily!
So true. Flyers and mail advertising, oh my goodness. Bad business practices, because all of that goes to the trash without making any money.
I live in an appartment block in the city, so there are rarely any door to door solicitors on my doorstep, exept for a pair of Jehovas Wittnesses few years back. Who knows how they had passed the locked door downstairs. I was in a good mood, so I asked them in for tea (I do not drink coffee), to have a conversation about the Bible, as that was what they offered. It got boring very soon because, unlike me, they had not even read the book, apart from bits and pieces from here and there and some sort of a beginners guide to it. How can anyone try to sell the truth value and a particular interpretation of a book they have not even read? I remained polite, but as it became obvious they did not want to learn about the book, or the cultures that created it (of wich I happen to know quite a bit), the discussion just died out and they were only too happy to leave. I felt a bit guilty for a short while, for presenting them with an alternate viewpoint and possibly shaking a bit something they thought rock solid and a foundation of their identity, but it was them who came to me, not the opposite. I now think however, it is them who are the ones scammed. Not by me, but the system that sent them, in that their sensation of being outsiders grows through every rejection they get and ties them tighter to the group identity and faith, the truth value of wich, they are even less likely to ever question.
Guess that’s the difference between being a man when unknown people knock on your door. I would not have answered the door if I wasn’t expecting dinner. My bad for not checking the ring video to make sure the coast was clear.
Yes, it is different. Men are priviledged not to fear as much as women and are often unaware of their priviledge. Altough, in this particular case when I opened the door I thought it was one of my neighbours come calling. I used to know my next door neighbours, untill the landlord decided to raise the rents and both the musician next door and the writer accross the hall had to move.