This story comes to us from our partner site My Green Lake. Have Wallingfordians seen some suspicious door-to-door activity from people who claim to work for Comcast?
A Green Lake resident wrote to us with some safety reminders.
Yesterday (Friday, June 3, 2011), a man came to her door. Asking for her husband, the man said he worked for Comcast.
Here is what happened next, in her words:
He asked to confirm our home phone number that he rattled off, but it was a totally bogus number. He also wanted to confirm that we had service with them since 2010 which is also incorrect because we’ve been with them for much longer. He continually kept looking into my living room. I kept asking why he was here and he just kept acting suspicious and kept going back to the phone number and not answering my question.
He had a yellow vest and a hat that said Comcast but he did not present id to me but I also didn’t ask. I’ve heard of people posing as Comcast employees as this outfit would be very easy to replicate.
If he truly was with Comcast, he would have had our account information that he could have confirmed with our correct dates and phone number.
After he left, I felt scared that he was casing my house.
The resident called Comcast (1-800-COMCAST), but she says that they could not confirm that the man was an employee of theirs without a badge number.
While this man may or may not have been a legitimate employee of Comcast, there have been incidents of scam artists posing as door-to-door Comcast salesmen elsewhere in the country. Incidents have been reported in Chattanooga, TN, Memphis, TN, and Chester, PA.
“At the very least,” the Green Lake resident who wrote to us says, “I want to warn our neighbors that they should never confirm or give out any information unless someone provides identification, and you can confirm it, if they come to your door. Also, I wish I had been thinking enough to not allow him to see into my home by having the door closed more or stepping outside to talk with him.”
Update, Sunday June 5:
Several residents have left comments both here and on facebook about incidents similar to the one reported here. We have forwarded links to these comments to Sgt. Dianne Newsom, who heads up the Seattle Police Department’s North Precinct Community Police Team.
Sgt. Newsom can be reached directly at (206) 684-0794 or at dianne.newsom [at] seattle.gov.
Update #2
Sgt. Newsom is off on Monday. If you would like to get a hold of the North Precinct Community Police Team on Monday, please contact Officer Travis Testerman at travis.testerman [at] seattle.gov.
