Troubleshooter: Beware of door-to-door security company scams
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Some security companies are knocking on doors, going from home-to-home looking for new customers, but one Raleigh woman says one company tried to scam her.
Ethel Combs said she answered an unexpected knock at her door and found a young man saying he was with a security company.
"He reached for the storm door latch and I said, 'No, you're not coming in here,'" she said. "He said he was selling a device that goes on the back of my ADT panel in the event that someone broke in a snatched it off the wall that it would still activate to the security company."
That made her suspicious as she said ADT had just visited about a week ago to replace a monitor and hadn't mentioned anything about someone else coming for another visit.
She called ADT and the company told her that the man at her house wasn't with them. Instead, it was another security company trying to trick her into signing another contract with a different security company.
Several police departments have issued warnings about this scam and it's now hitting our area.
ADT is the biggest home security company in the country with about 300,000 customers here in the Carolinas. David Bleisch, ADT's head lawyer, says the company is taking action and wants to protect its customers.
"We're offering a $5,000 reward to people who are ready to step forward and whistle blow on companies that are training their sales representatives to use these types of deceptive sales tactics," he said.
Combs says she's glad she didn't fall for it and warns others to stay alert.
"Always be on the alert but, most importantly, don't open your door because you never know who you're letting in," she said. "Especially, if you're not expecting anyone."
Bleisch says scams like these aren't uncommon.
"All sorts of lies that are used to get into the customer's house and without the customer knowing it to switch over to another company," he said.
If you do get a knock on your door from someone who says they're from your security company, ask for their ID and check with your company to make sure they're really with the company.
Also, make sure that you read any paperwork thoroughly before signing it. Legally, you have three days to cancel a contract if you sign one and realize it's not what you want.
