Cautionary Tales About Home Security Scams

When asked in a conversation, most people tend to deny they accept anything from door-to-door salesmen. Yet many homeowners are tricked or exploited when facing an actual fraudster at their doorstep. This theory is backed up by two recent stories. In Lexington, a salesman of Alder Systems disguised himself as a representative of ADT, claiming to “upgrade their system” or “provide up-to-date equipment”.

In reality they conned the unsuspecting homeowners to opt for an entirely new service, beside their existing one. The other case includes Vivint salesmen, who didn’t lie to their customers but were persuasive enough to sign up new users that ended up becoming unsatisfied with the overall quality of the service. These users then found themselves locked into a 48-month long contract, with no way to back out. The source of the problem in both cases was that people signed the contract on a whim, without fully understanding the commitments.

One of the key tactics of door-to-door salesmen is to pressure the customer into signing the contract right away, which is a huge mistake. Sometimes they offer gifts, or claim that this is a limited time deal. In rare cases the salesman even becomes aggressive and tries to bully the homeowner into submission. Whether the person is an actual representative of the company or a con artist, you should never-ever give in and accept the terms on the spot. Just think about it: big-name companies have other means to let customers know about special deals and discounts. Relying only on door-to-door salesmen to spread the news works against their best interest. Another quick way to debunk scammers before they could get inside the house is to ask for an ID card. Perhaps make a quick call to the company to check whether they actually sell the given service.