Door-to-door scam could be far-reaching

BY ELLEN BILTZ

Date published: 8/14/2008

BY ELLEN BILTZ

Residents in Spotsylvania and King George counties began reporting incidents of possible fraud this week after realizing they may have been scammed by a smooth-talking young man who rang their doorbell.

The Free Lance-Star ran an article last week, alerting people of a possible door-to-door scam in a Spotsylvania neighborhood, and afterward, both the paper and local sheriffs' offices began getting additional calls and e-mails.

"It's happening here, too." and "Watch out, it's all around us," were sentences included in some of the e-mails.

The reports came from people who said they may also have been duped by someone claiming to raise money for a local organization or school trip, as had been reported previously.

The majority of reports were in either Spotsylvania or King George counties.

"They had answers for everything," said Kristi Pauli, whose husband was originally approached in their front yard.

Pauli said there were two young men who visited her home, but some of the reports were of only one visitor.

Originally, the board of directors for the Spotsylvania neighborhood Chancellor West sent out a notice to its residents to be on the look-out for a clean-cut young man, possibly a teenager, trying to sell children's books to send his baseball team to Tokyo.

1st Sgt. Liz Scott of the Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office said there have been at least 10 calls to her office since last week's article from other people who believe they have been scammed.

"There has been a boatload of calls," she said.

And they aren't just coming from Chancellor West.

Other neighborhoods in the county, as well as in King George, have reports of visitors whose physical characteristics are the same--good looking, well-dressed and smooth-talking.

One man, who asked not to be identified, said he donated $30 to the man who came to his door wanting to collect money to send books to Iraq and then, after the check was cashed, he "Googled" the company name only to find out it was probably a scam.

"I feel like an idiot," he said.

The company he searched for, Tuscan Reader Services, is one of the few details consistent in most of the reports.

Almost every resident has said their visitor claimed to be an employee of, or be collecting money through, Tuscan Reader Services.

That business came under scrutiny locally last year when Tasha Mitchell, a 19-year-old woman, claimed to be a high school cheerleader raising money by selling books for Tuscan Reader Services. It was later determined to be a scam company.

Mitchell was convicted of obtaining money by false pretenses and ordered to serve one year in prison.

Neither Spotsylvania nor King George Sheriff's Offices have suspects in the most recent events, but both have asked anyone with information, or who experiences a visit from someone they believe is collecting money fraudulently, to call police.

Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424
Email: ebiltz@freelancestar.com

Date published: 8/14/2008

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