Door-to-door salesmen selling fraudulent magazine subscriptions have resurfaced in New London, according to Department of Consumer Protection.
The pitches happen nationwide but still, Joe Muscarella didn’t expect to find the salesmen knocking on his door on a quiet afternoon.
Muscarella said two gentlemen tried getting him to buy a subscription for more than $100 cash.
"After seeing how they responded and seeing their approach," said Muscarella. "It was very clear that their one motivation was money, and it wasn’t a career."
That money goes to the company, which supposedly employs inner city kids nationwide.
In reality, according to the Department of Consumer Protection spokesperson Lora Rae Anderson, many employees struggle to make ends meet.
“The long and short is they end up working under really poor labor conditions, they have ridiculous quotas they need to meet and sometimes end up owing the company,” said Anderson.
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And the customers often don’t even get the subscription they paid for, according to the DCP, giving authorities little recourse since the companies are hard to trace and only accept cash.
“They’re looking for anybody who is willing to give them money— who is going to fall victim to those typical scam signs that we talk about all the time,” said Anderson.
Two big red flags—if someone demands cash, and if someone pressures you into making a decision right on the spot.
Anderson also advises against doing business with door-to-door sales people unless it’s someone you know, trust, and someone that will give you time to make your decision.
Three of Muscarella’s neighbors gave in to the solicitation—Muscarella did not.
Instead, he offered his own unsolicited advice right back.
"I was trying to let them know that what they were part of wasn't legitimate," said Muscarella. "And if they are really enterprising young men, they should (go back) to the gainful employment that they left."
