More on Magazine Solicitors

This just in from Laurelhurst Crime Prevention Representatives:

"The Seattle Police Department has told us that most of these solicitors are not legitimate. These solicitors are scammers and give very little, if any, of the money they collect to the charity or organization they claim to represent.If a solicitor comes to your door, do not open it but tell them through the closed door "NOT INTERESTED." If you do answer the door and the solicitor becomes angry, threatening or verbally abusive, call 911."

And another experience sent in to us by a reader in the neighborhood:

"My husband and I recently had a door-to-door salesman knock on our door selling magazines for "Entrepreneurs Inc/Midwest Clearing." He was polite, well-dressed in a dress shirt and tie, and engaging, though he didn't have all of his facts straight.

When my husband asked for the salesman's ID, he said it was in his truck. After running out to his truck, he came back and said he had left his wallet at home, though his "girlfriend" was on the phone to verify that his wallet was left at home on the dresser. Later he said he lived in a hotel.

During the time he was running out to his truck, we googled the companies, and could only find information indicating the magazine sales were fraudulent. We told him this, and he became agitated and left quickly.

We just wanted to share, as I'm sure he's knocked on many doors in the neighborhood. He referenced a list of names of his sales (truthful or not) which included some people who live in the neighborhood. He stopped by our house both on Friday night and Monday night. We live in the 3600 block of 47th Ave NE. "