Coastside Moms Talk: A Scary Knock at the Door

I was sent this email exchange between local moms regarding late-night knocks at their doors. Sometimes the knockers seemed to be overly-aggressive solicitors, while at other times it seemed they were outright frauds.

Have you had a problem with scary knocks at the door in your neighborhood? What's your experience? Do you have safety tips for your neighbors? Please, let us know in the comments. 

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"This evening as I was putting my kids to sleep I heard a knock on my front door; it was about 8:00 and very dark out already. There was a young, caucasian male who stated he was running in a contest for public speaking??? Has anyone else encountered this solicitation? I was quite alarmed when I told him initially I wasn't interested and he became more aggressive. I ended up yelling for my husband who then came to the door and ended up asking him to leave and told him we were going to call the cops when he just continued to stand on our doorstep. We then called the police and they are currently circling our neighborhood looking for him. If anyone has heard of such a thing going on in Pacifica and is legit, please let me know or if you too have experience this solicitation. I am concerned now, b/c we have asked neighbors and no one else had anyone approach them. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared. Any information would be welcome and much appreciated. Thanks in advance,"--CB

"It is good you called the police. Several months ago, my neighborhood had 2 young men posing as Comcast employees soliciting homes after 7pm (wanting to come in and check the wires!) for a few nights before my call to the police resulted in their finding the men and questioning them. Many more homes in town have had thefts since the recession began. In our society, we don't do business door-to-door after business hours (and you could make the case that we don't do business like this at any time of day anymore), and any such activity is suspect. Glad everyone is okay.  I know that if your neighborhood can organize and pay for "neighborhood watch signs" to be installed - the Pacifica police would have more info about the process."--CW

"I'm glad everyone is ok, that's very scary. I haven't encountered any soliciting at our home yet, we moved to Pacifica last April.  But I can tell you from past experience that when there is a knock at your door and you're home you are always supposed to acknowledge the person, not by opening the door, but peeking through a window or just yelling through the closed door that you can't open the door now and to please go away. That way the person knows that someone is home, as most thefts want an empty house, and if you ignore the door they may assume nobody is there. My sister in law (who lives out in Pleasanton), ignored some "solicitors" a couple months back (they must have assumed nobody was home) and they broke into her yard and tried to get in though her back door while she was alone inside with her 2 yr. old daughter. She called the police and they actually caught the guys and they are in jail (as they had records and were charged attempted robbery as they broke into her yard i guess...), but the police told her to always acknowledge who is at your door (again, not by opening the door) so they know people are home. Just thought I’d share this, I think neighborhood watch signs are a great idea; I’m going to speak to my neighbors about it."--TC

"Hi everyone. I too am glad everyone's ok. I would like to reiterate that we should never open our doors when someone we don't know and don't expect comes knocking. Beyond robberies, it can be far worse. A dear friend of mine was murdered last fall when she opened the door for someone posing as a worker checking on a gas leak. She lived in a secure building in SF and I guess just presumed it was legit. He looked normal and was wearing appropriate clothing, truly tragic and unfortunately avoidable. If someone says they're checking on a utility (PG&E, phone, cable, etc) call that provider and find out if it's real before doing anything. If they say they're police, call the police to confirm. We've had people claiming to be Comcast following up for customer service, kids selling papers, etc. and I've opened the door, but I won't be doing that again! Take care and be safe,"--KH

"Thanks for that email! Pacifica, even though it is picturesque, has a lot of drugs and crime. I had lived in SF for years and never had a problem, but when we moved to Pacifica, our home was robbed. Luckily, Pacifica police are very responsive."--JP

"We don't have a 'no solicitation' sign on our fence, and wonder if those that do, does this work? I always give the neighborhood kids a few dollars for their heart walk, jog-a-thons or cookie fundraisers! But we do get knocks on our door from time to time, from teens looking to raise money for college (through mag. newspaper subs) or window installers etc. ( I even had a guy knock on our door the DAY we replaced our double doors for a panoramic window, 'dude don't you see we JUST got a NEW window?'....)  Our dog usually barks when someone new comes to the door, but around dinner time, with a full belly she just can't be bothered.... perhaps I should also get a 'Beware of the dog' sign..."--RT

"Whoa! Scary stories, but true nonetheless. We used to have some guys from some ecogroup trying to get people to donate money for their cause. They came annually but one year in particular they sent a young guy and he became increasingly persistent, so through the door I said no, and if you don't leave now and leave us alone I will call the cops for harassment. Never came back again. We also had a dog and we posted a "beware of dog" sign on the door fence. He passed away a couple of years ago but we kept forgetting to remove the tag, but to tell you the truth, it was actually better that we left it on.  He hasn’t had any annoying sellers or suspicious people knocking at our door in a looooooong time. Stay safe and thank you all for sharing your experiences and tips."--CQ

"If you live in Linda Mar, the guy came to my house last night at about 7:30. Knocked very loudly and when I opened the door (like a dummy, I realize now!) he was nice enough but rather insistent for my attention. I told him I wasn't at all interested and he left. After reading all these posts, I will be much more cautious. Thanks!"--NC