1. 

   Steve D
   

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   On Tuesday Nov 25th, an Asian man came to my 83 year old mother's house on Sunset Hill.
   She opened the door and he said he was her new news delivery person from the Seattle PI and wanted to introduce himself. He was, of course, a confidence man and thief. My Mom said he was so kind and personaable, asking questions about her cat and if she had any special delivery instructions, etc. He then asked her for a glass of water. By the time she returned, he had stolen $130 cash from her purse and was driving away in his car. Luckily, he took nothing else and she was not hurt. And she will never let anyone else in the house again that she doesn't know. I beleve he preys on elderly women who live alone, which there are quite a few of in Ballard.
   The Times and PI do NOT send out carriers to meet their customers, so please spread the word to all you know to watch out for this scam. Anyone else heard of this?

   Posted 4 years ago #
2. 

   sman
   

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   I'm glad it was only money and that your mother was not harmed. Do you have any detailed information such as approximate age range of the Asian man and the type and color of the car that you can reveal to us?

   Posted 4 years ago #
3. 

   boardbrown
   

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   Similar thing happened to my wife a few weeks back. A fella knocked on the door and indroduced himself as our "new" delivery person (for the Times) and asked her if she wanted to subscribe. She told him we already subscribe. He looked slightly baffled, then excused himself and disappeared. She wasn't robbed (thank God), but I've been suspicious that it was simply someone casing the house to see who's home during the day.

   Posted 4 years ago #
4. 

   lakreitz
   

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   Hmm... Mrs.Boardbrown got a visit a few weeks/months ago, another visit with the same m.o in the same neighborhood results in a robbery this week. It's unlikely these are the only two homes that have been approached. I have yet to see any mention of this in the Times or the PI. If Craigslist had somehow been involved, it would have been on the front page of the local rags.

   Posted 4 years ago #
5. 

   mudblood
   

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   In October, a "magazine salesman" stopped by. After we promptly declined his offer, he asked to use our restroom. He was directed to the nearest public facility.

   A few weeks ago, a "newspaper representative" offered a free Sunday paper and tried to collect payment in advance for a subscription (which we also declined.) Suffice to say, Sunday came and went with no free paper.

   We're new to this part of the country and don't really know the soliciation practices; thought these visits were like the heaps of "welcome to the neighborhood" coupons arriving in our mail slot.

   Posted 4 years ago #
6. 

   Steve D
   

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   Regarding the suspect in this, My Mom was, of course, quite flustered and couldn't give real precise details. She said he was driving a blue 4 door "older" car. She didn't know make or model. The man was average height 5'9 or so. She really couldn't remember what clothes he was wearing. But he was obvioulsy quite charming and "a very nice man" as my mother put it. That's about all the details I have. We did report this to police. Thanks for your input.

   Posted 4 years ago #
7. 

   Mike
   

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   I grew up in suburban Michigan; a nice neighborhood. My wife grew up in LA. One day we were hanging out at home, and someone knocked on the door. She was shocked--astounded, really--when I got up and answered*.

   Turns out, people where she grew up simply don't answer the door. There's a common practice amongst tweakers to knock on the door, bum-rush the person that answers, push them into the house, and then close the door to prevent witnesses. So, she doesn't answer knocks.

   It makes sense, when you think about it. A friend, relative, or neighbor would call you. So who could be knocking? A salesman? A petition-gatherer? Someone with a problem, that--given a litigious society--you should stay out of? A con artist? A violent criminal?

   Do you really want to or need to talk to ANY of those people? No.

   So, now I'm on board with her "ignore all door spam" policy**. Anyone who wants to reach me--and who I also want to be reached by--can use the phone. :)

   -m

   * It was a door-to-door solicitor for Obama's campaign. I'd already donated the maximum allowed by law, via a website with SSL security. I'm not about to hand over cash, my email address, and my signature to a stranger with a clipboard so I politely declined, and sent the guy on his way.

   ** Of course, I'd answer the door if the knocking was urgent. As in, "your house is on fire!", or "Godzilla is coming!". Put the little polite, knock-knock-knock-and-then-nothing? Forget it. Not worth the potential trouble.

   Posted 4 years ago #
8. 

   mudblood
   

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   My neighbors knock.

   Posted 4 years ago #
9. 

   scrumbum
   

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   tazer + several swift kicks to the nuts == reformed youth

   Posted 4 years ago #
10. 

    scrumbum
    

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    sorry, add sterile to that

    Posted 4 years ago #

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