I have a suggestion for your crime prevention section of the Reporter.

This is an old scam but it would be good to remind people to not fall for this crime. In the last two weeks, I have had two separate instances at my home of door-to-door solicitation.

The operation works in this way: A young girl, 18-24 years old, knocks on the door and starts chattering away about her being a neighbor a couple blocks away. They drop a couple of generic first names for parents (Bob and Trish, Mary and Matt) and a nearby street. They cannot provide a specific address because they just moved in or are nervous and can’t remember. They also conveniently have no ID. They are on the honor roll at college (Seattle Community College or WSU) and are raising money to study abroad (Spanish in Spain or Drama at the Old Globe Theater in London).

They then talk about the selling of magazine subscriptions but “no one seems to want that so a donation of $20 will be fine.” They might also mention a points system whereby the donation you make gets them so many points toward the study program. Both girls carried very full men’s wallets to convince people that other people were donating. Some of these travel in groups and get dropped off in neighborhood’s to canvass for donations.

Please do not give them money or buy the magazine. Call the local police or sheriff’s office and report the incident on the non-emergency line.

Sylvia McAllister, Redmond