So, I fell for it too! Basically, I thought I was being nice to a young man who charmed his way into my home telling me about his soccer league and his plans to go to England for a soccer tournament. His parents would pay for half but he had to raise funds to cover the other half. It's not so much the money, although I am glad I caught wind of the scam in time to place a stop payment on the check - it's more about the principle of it. The young man was so believable and of course talented. My story is very similar to the ones already posted so sadly my message is simply to beware. God help these young people; this young man has added so much stress to my life today, stress that I do not need since I already have a debilitating disease, so shame on him for lying and shame on me for buying into his lie!
Things to look for:
He/She will ask to come into your home and will use misdirection tactics so that you look to where he/she is pointing and in the meantime he/she will survey your home.
He/She will insist on donating the books to needy or sick children (of another group in need).
He/She will mention that he/she is a neighbor or a neighbor's relative.
He/She will mention what other neighbors have done or how they've donated.
He/She will ask you what you do for a living (I presume to see who's home and where) and will discuss dogs if he/she suspects that there are dogs in the house (I presume to find out what obstacles there might be).
He/She will be charming and speak fast, so be careful to slow down to think things through. And he/she will have done all of the above in the space of a few minutes and all during a very casual conversation.
So, if you've been duped, try the following:
-Remind yourself that you were only being nice, it was he/she who did wrong!
-Put a stop payment on the check (if you paid by check)
-Cancel the checking account
-Contact the three credit bureaus to place fraud alerts (you never know if they took something else from your home while you were being "distracted").
-Contact your local law enforcement agency and file a report.
-Contact your Home Owner's Association to inform them about what happened and so that they neighborhood can be on alert to prevent both future scams and/or possible burglaries.
Finally, be alert! I for one, have already contacted my alarm system company and tomorrow, I will be getting an addition to my current alarm system. I'm not taking any chances!
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