INC NEWS - Residents On Alert For Door-To-Door Scam Artists (today on NBC-17)

[John Schelp]

Old West Durham Residents On Alert For Door-To-Door Scam Artists
By Jennifer Turk, NBC-17, 24 July 2008 [video link is below]

Durham residents are asked to be on alert for scam artists that are going door-to-door claiming to sell home security equipment.

The company, APX Systems, has been targeting the Old West Durham neighborhood. Alleged victims say the company is using scare tactics to try to make the false sale.

Old West Durham resident, Jenny Palmer says she never answers her door to anyone she doesn't know. But two weeks ago she was expecting a visit from her rental company, so she answered the knock. But what she got was a visit from an unwanted salesman.

"I had see comments on the neighborhood listserv that we have about people coming door-to-door in general and more specifically about alarm people coming around," said Palmer.

The tight knit community has seen its share of unwanted solicitors from a company called APX Security Systems, but when Palmer got her turn with the company, she quickly let them know she wasn't buying.

"And he was like, well actually there are people in this neighborhood who have installed systems and we are running a special," she said. "I kept asking him if he had a permit from the city to sell in this neighborhood but he could never give me a straight answer."

Other neighbors said the man would try to scare them into buying a system, by lying about break-ins in the area that never actually happened.

"You know we're running a special right now we are going to try and install a free alarm system on every block but of course we can't do that for everybody and this is when things started to seem a little weird to me," recalls Palmer of the day the man approached her door.

As soon as she got rid of the man she emailed the listserv about her experience contacted the North Carolina Lisencing Board. Palmer filled out a formal compliant with the agency.

"Literally within five minutes after I forward my report to the man in Raleigh he had emailed me back and said tell me more about what you know. And seriously within minutes of me emailing him my address and phone number I got a call from the investigator and within half an hour to 45 minutes he was in the area," said Palmer.

"I'm not sure if anyone has actually fallen victim but this neighborhood sticks together and looks out for one another," Palmer said.

The Attorney General's Office and the North Carolina licensing board are both investigating the company. The Attorney General's Office stated they can not comment any further due to the open investigation.

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http://durhamcounty .mync.com/ site/durhamcount y/news%7CCommuni ty/story/ 5752/apx_ scam_in_old_ west_durhamapx_ scam_in_old_ west_durham