I have encountered these very solicitors on 4 separate occasions. I will NEVER open the door again to anyone I don't recognize.
Here is an article from a recent Mercury News Action Line article:
"Q I was scammed by two boys claiming to be selling magazines to support a baseball team.
They claimed to be raising money for their team to go to a tournament in Florida.
The point man of the two-man team was very convincing and claimed to be our neighbor.
Being new to the neighborhood I wanted to be neighborly and offered to help them out.
I wrote them a check for some magazines to be donated to a children's charity.
After they left, something wasn't sitting right with me so I Googled the company listed on the very official looking receipt and found countless reports at http://www.ripoffreport.com of people like me being swindled.
I'm writing in the hope that the paper will write about it and put it somewhere everyone can see it.
We need to educate people so that they won't fall prey to similar scams.
J.M.
Morgan Hill
A Everyone, tell your friends about this very common scam that blossoms in the spring and lasts well through the summer.
Regular readers of this column know all about this.
You may recall the last time we visited this subject three months ago, the scam went like this.
The folks at Good Samaritan Hospital reported that door-to-door sellers were moving through Saratoga and Los Gatos neighborhoods identifying themselves as West Valley Community College students.
They were "pushing" magazine subscriptions that would supposedly go to children hospitalized at Good Sam.
The sellers "suggested" the victims spend $40 each for every member of their family.
One woman said she wrote the seller a check just to get rid of them.
Good Sam said that the sellers had no connection with the hospital.
You can expect to see these sellers sweeping through the neighborhoods.
Be very careful with these folks because they are pushy.
It is best not to let door-to-door solicitors inside your home.
But if you don't say "no" right away, then ask to see a card or brochure. California law requires that solicitors have something that shows the name and contact numbers for the organization they represent. If they can't produce that information, thank them politely and close the door.
If you are interested in buying, get everything in writing first and ask the salesperson to check back later after you've gone over everything.
Be aware that these "students" will lie about where they are from, telling you that they live in your community and that they are a student at your local high school or college.
In reality, many of them are traveling across the country in a van packed with as many as 15 teens and young adults selling magazine subscriptions that can cost as much as 300 percent more than if you were to buy the same subscription directly from the publisher via the Internet.
Another common false pitch is that they are working toward points to win a trip or that they are doing charity work selling magazines for a local hospital or that they are working toward a scholarship.
In all likelihood, these are scams.
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