A couple weeks ago, right after I moved into my house, a guy came to my door pushing a home security system — he said I could get a free system if I’d agree to put his company’s sign in my yard because my yard “has good visibility” — and I can’t remember the company name, darn it. But the kid seemed nice, shy, clean cut. It wasn’t until he asked if I currently have an alarm system that I became, um, alarmed. Yeah, I thought … probably not a good idea to tell the stranger my alarm wasn’t yet hooked up. Then, second red flag, I asked the guy for a business card and told him I’d talk it over with the fam, but he didn’t have a business card. I gave him a you-gotta-be-kiddin-me look and said, “goodbye”, figuring he was up to no good. I never really looked into it because I was so busy, but tonight I heard this report from the Better Business Bureau warning about these “alarm sales scams”. And scattered about cyberspace are reports —like this one — from people who received the yard sign offer and lived to regret it. It’s not illegal — but could prove dangerous and costly.
