GREENSBORO, N.C. — A warning from our area's Better Business Bureau: be careful about people who come to your front door this summer.
They say warmer weather means more door-to-door scammers, some of whom are posing as security system salesmen.
Kevin Hinterberger with the BBB says when someone comes to your door, stay skeptical, and vigilant.
"In this instance where there's a security company that is maybe going door-to-door, they could be trying to slam service, so they may come in and change out your service and bring in another monitoring service without your knowledge," he said, "They could be coming in to case your home. They may want to try and rob you. You don't know what's going on, once you let them into the house."
He says a woman recently contacted the BBB to report a scammer, who told her that he worked for Brink's Home Security company. The man showed up without an appointment, at the door, and said he wanted to access the security system.
She called the company to verify, and turns out, Brink's Home Security doesn't send employees door-to-door, nor do they show up unannounced.
The BBB says a good rule of thumb is to always ask for more identifying information, even if the person at the front door seems legitimate.
"The folks going door-to-door could be very persuasive," Hinterberger said, "Ask for their credentials, so you know who you're dealing with. Ask for an identification, a full name, and if they have an ID number."
Finally, if you get a bad feeling about the potential scammers you just avoided, Hinterberger says it doesn't hurt to call police to check them out. That way you are doing your part to keep your neighbors safe from fake salesmen.