Complaint Review: Universal Subscription Agency

Similar to many of your other experiences, I was visited last week by a young man in his twenties who was a very fast talker. He was "selling magazines for a trip to Cancun" and rattled off a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about competing with the girls team, suggesting I squirt them with ketchup and mustard and doling out uncomfortable high-fives.

I should have known. I mean, we all felt like we should have known, right? Well, anyway, what made me really uncomfortable was the attention he gave to the inside of my place; noticing jewelry, asking about my profession (to gauge my income?), looking around and taking note. Is this guy "casing the joint?"

For the first time in a while I felt pleased I'm not all that well-off.

He got me all the way up to the last second, right up until I was going to pay him when my radar started going off too loud for me to ignore. I started asking him questions about his company, their policies, how I could be sure I'd get my magazines. His answers were unclear and incomplete. After I told him no thanks and wished him luck, he asked for a drink and went on his way.
I dialed the police and looked up the company here on RipoffReport.

My real concerns are two-fold. Just because he didn't succeed with me this time doesn't mean he didn't fully intend to rip me off and try his darndest to do so. So #1 - Is this small crime a setup for a bigger one like robbery? and # 2 - Are These The Very Same Individuals We Have All Been Seeing (likely), or is there some devious training program schooling kids on how to be crooks(maybe unlikely)?

It was clear that this kid knew what he was doing, he was rehearsed and well-practiced. That was probably the biggest tip-off (if you are reading this buddy then take note); kids who are really doing stuff like this are uncomfortable, try hard to make the sale but don't impose on you. If this is one of the same dudes that's going around the country with this scam (it was clear he'd been doing it for a while), why hasn't he been arrested/jailed yet? What can we do besides inform the police to help stop this from spreading? What can I do to protect my home from further action? I guess that's getting off topic, but it is going through my head and you can be sure I've already started stepping up security.

Well, unfortunately people usually come to forums like this only after the fact, after they've been made victims. What can we do to keep our neighbors from needing to visit this site for the very same reasons? I guess just keep calling the cops, and help them do their jobs. What does the world think?

Anon.
Sterling, Virginia
U.S.A.