<p>and I opened the door to find a young man standing there. He said he was sorry, that he lived around the corner and had to “bug” everyone in the neighborhood. Asked if I had a few minutes. Proceeds to tell me that he is an Honors Student going into his senior year at Rutgers University, carries a 3.9 GPA and is being invited to go on some trip abroad for his program. But, to prove to the professor that he’s serious about doing this, he has to raise the remainder of the $$$ himself. So, they’ve made up a brochure to sell magazine subscriptions. I resisted the urge to yell, “You’re kidding me, right?” Instead, I politely told him that I could not do this, I had two kids starting college in a year, had helped out nieces and nephews etc. I was really stunned by this. Anyone else ever encounter anything like this?</p>
<p>There are many disreputable companies that prey on young people and get them to solicit under horrible conditions. Politely shut door and call local police. Solicitos must have license where I live. I dont believe this.</p>
<p>If young people come away from home, the best police can do is get them home.</p>
<p>kayf,
I am tempted to call Rutgers and ask about this. I just may do that. I wish that solicitors needed a license where I live. I loathe answering my doorbell, and sometimes just peek out the window to see who it is.</p>
<p>MOM, please speak to your local officials and demand licensing. The worst of this situation is not the door bell ringing, but the abuse of young people. They may be put up 4-5 to a room in dangerous motels, away from home, and were not expecting this. Not only should you not contribute to bogus causes, but you should help police get young people home. Peace.</p>
<p>I would be shocked if it’s legit or has any connection to Rutgers. I bet it’s a scam. We’ve had many variations of this type of soliciting. One time when the “student” said he lived around the corner and up the block I was able to determine on-the-spot that he wasn’t who he said he was by asking a couple of questions (name, which house).</p>
<p>There was a This American Life piece about a these magazine companies. The kids are really preyed on by these companies. The story was surely a scam, and Rutgers will know nothing.</p>
<p>Definitely a scam – just a fake story. Very typical – they always have some sort of fake story that usually involves raising money to sponsor student travel.</p>
<p>Calmom, of course it is a scam. But the people reeping the rewards are not the kids ringing doorbells, but their bosses. Again, I implore people to report this to their local authorities and demand it be stopped. </p>
<p>Everyone here on CC looks out after their own kid. Please spend a few minutes to care about all young people. I suspect the kids caught up in this have less caring or less educated parents. Peace.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe a prof at Rutgers would put him up to this. It doesn’t sound like his story is legit and he might not actually be a college student at Rutgers at all. </p>
<p>I never buy magazines subscriptions from the people who come to my door with some sob story like ‘pulling themselves up’, ‘getting themselves off the streets’, etc. or ‘raising money for some school-related trip’. Some of these people are in on the fake story but some of them are being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous individual who pockets most of the proceeds and the ‘salesperson’ ends up with next to nothing. I’ve seen some of these people who drop off the ‘salespeople’ in the area and wait for them to do all the knocking.</p>
<p>I’m glad you didn’t support the scam (I call it that because even if one ends up with the mag subscription, it was done under false pretenses).</p>
<p>If this kid really goes to Rutgers and really wants money for a trip, he should have a real summer job where he could earn far more than selling subscriptions.</p>
<p>You did the right thing, except for openning the door and explaining your reasons. I do not open the door, I do not explain my reasons, not in person, not on a phone. More so, I tell tehm that they have no right to bother us. I wish more people do that, maybe it will stop them from coming/calling.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>But then that could be the scam where they’re checking to see if your home. If no one answers, that’s when they try to break in.</p>
<p>toledo,
I answer thru the door. One time they even asked if I hear, I said, yes.</p>
<p>When I read this, I immediately thought of the van crash 10 years ago in Wisconsin. A magazine subscription company recruited young people and drove them around the country. Seven of them were killed and five others injured when the company’s driver (whose license was suspended) tried to change seats with one of the passengers while being pursued by a police car, and lost control.</p>
<p>There were numerous articles at that time about how the companies take advantage of their employees. There is so much potential danger to the children that any such company should be immediately reported so your local police department can check into it. The State of Wisconsin recently passed an act to protect traveling sales crews.</p>
<p>[Wisconsin</a> Office of the Governor - Media Room](<a href=“Official site of Governor Tony Evers”>Official site of Governor Tony Evers)</p>
<p>According the BBB,
</p>
<p>To the OP–from the mentioned of Rutgers it sounds as though you may be in NJ–this sounds like a pretty common magazine subscription scam that has been going on sporadically for years in the area.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.travelingsalescrews.info%5B/url%5D”>www.travelingsalescrews.info</a>
Here is a web site dedicated to busting this scam.
One of the recent articles linked, mentions the scammers referencing Rutgers.</p>
<p>This stuff still goes on? I thought that these roving subscription “sweatshops” were old news because I saw a TV report about this at least 20 years ago! These days nearly every website has a solicitation for a magazine subscription. And if I really needed to do it the old fashioned (hard copy) way, I snag one of those mail request cards out of an issue currently at the supermarket, newsstand or bookstore.</p>
<p>thanks for the link musica.
I had been wondering why I didn’t see so many solicitors this summer while I worked in my yard- perhaps cracking down has helped.
I have never had any young person give me the name of a school I recognized however and usually they are not even college age.</p>
<p>We have them come to our office from time to time claiming they are soliciting for “local churches.” Too bad for them that this is a very small town and I know most all kids within that age range. So I always ask which church and they stumble around for an answer. Scam…</p>
<p>I have seen this quite a bit over the years. For some reason it seems the nieghborhoods I choose to live in are magnets for this stuff. Definitely a scam, no question about it.</p>
<p>This exact scam attempt happened to me several years ago, and the 2 “students” also, oddly enough, “lived around the corner” (I’d never seen them and the town isn’t all that big.) and “attended Rutgers.” </p>
<p>Right – like I was born yesterday.</p>