By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com | Posted: Saturday, January 16, 2010 6:10 pm
Authorities in Temecula and Escondido are urging residents to use caution when people show up at their door selling magazine subscriptions or asking for donations.
Riverside County sheriff's deputies said they received a complaint earlier this week from a Temecula woman who said she was defrauded by a woman selling magazine subscriptions. Escondido police said they also have received complaints in recent weeks about pushy and rude magazine subscription peddlers. The Temecula woman, Carina Bruner, said a check she gave to the young woman who showed up at her door was altered to show a larger amount.
"It's really sad," Bruner said in a phone interview Thursday. Bruner said a woman claiming to be a college student came to her home Jan. 7. The woman said she was trying to earn money for her school so that she could go on a trip. She said Bruner could help by buying a magazine subscription. When Bruner told the woman she didn't want a subscription, the woman asked her if she wanted to buy a subscription for a soldier serving in Iraq. Bruner said the subscriptions were too expensive and declined, but then the woman asked if she wanted to make a small donation.
"I thought, 'I am going to give her five bucks so I can get her to leave,'" Bruner said. That turned out to be a mistake.
On Wednesday, the check she wrote for $5 was cashed for $50, Bruner said. Her bank recommended that she close her account and open a new one. The bank also reimbursed the money because the transaction was considered fraudulent, Bruner said.
Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez, a spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, said similar cases have been reported in nearby counties, such as Los Angeles. Thus far, only Bruner has reported being a victim in Southwest Riverside County, Gutierrez said.
But that doesn't mean she alone was victimized. "I have seen reports that large groups of people are brought in from out of state to peddle magazine subscriptions" and target specific areas, Gutierrez said.
Escondido police Lt. Bob Benton said the department has received complaints of rude peddlers. Escondido requires door-to-door sales people to get a permit, but the peddlers appear to be operating without the city's approval, Benton said.
Sometimes, door-to-door peddlers are linked to other crimes, such as home burglaries, Gutierrez said. The peddlers act as scouts looking for homes to target, he said. "If you notice, they are not looking at you," Gutierrez said. "They are looking over your shoulder. They are looking into your house to see what you have."
Bruner said she later learned that several of her neighbors gave money or paid for subscriptions from several individuals that night. She said many of her neighbors may not yet know that they have been deceived.
"I have a very strong feeling people might not know because it takes six to eight weeks for a subscription to begin," Bruner said.
Gutierrez said the department is reminding residents to use caution when someone they don't know shows up at the door.
"You don't have to open your door if you don't know that person," Gutierrez said.
