Last modified: Monday, May 24, 2004 12:24 PM PDT Police urge residents to be vigilant against scam artists Tami Hart - Argus Observer ONTARIO - Spring has arrived and with it warm weather, rain showers, more hours of daylight and, in Ontario, scam artists. According to Ontario Police Chief Mike Kee, scam artists, or "gypsies," are making the rounds in Ontario, selling everything from bogus magazine subscriptions, curb painting and unnecessary roof and home repairs. While these schemes are nothing new, Kee said this year the police department has been inundated with complaints regarding people selling magazines door to door without the solicitor's license required by the city of Ontario. Kee said the profile for the salespeople is typically someone in their mid-20s, dressed casually, who uses high pressure sales techniques. Often, the salespeople will represent themselves as selling the magazines as a fund-raiser for a religious group. "It's none of that," Kee said. "They're just out making money for themselves." The groups are typically from the Boise area, although some are from across the country, Kee said. They stay in local motels and travel in passenger vans, which they drive through the city and drop the salespeople off in different areas. They usually prey on the elderly, Kee said. Kee said they show customers a pamphlet listing the magazines for sale, but the tip off for consumers, he said, is the fact the salespeople want payment for the order right on the spot. Kee said his department has begun to issue citations for no solicitors license, which is something he said they should have been doing from the start. "We thought we could convince them to go away. That hasn't worked," Kee said. "We're better off if we can talk to them and convince them to leave town, without writing them a ticket, or arresting them because it saves us time on the other end. That's how we tried to do it but that backfired on us this time. They're persistent and won't leave, so its costing us more time dealing with them." With personnel cuts on the horizon, Kee said the job of dealing with these scam artists is going to be made that much more difficult, but it is an issue that will remain high on the department's priority list. People can protect themselves from these magazine sales scams by simply not answering the door. "If you need magazines and you feel like you want to do business with them, ask to see their solicitors permit. If they do have one, they're required to carry it. Everyone has the right to see it," Kee said. These magazine scams should not discourage people from buying magazines from legitimate organizations, such as school fund- raisers, Kee said. Another type of scheme making the rounds is groups who advertise they will paint house street numbers on curbs for just $15 or $20 dollars. While customers do actually receive the service they pay for, Kee said city ordinance actually prohibits the painting of house numbers on city curbs. Neighborhoods have been canvassed and covered with pamphlets explaining the importance of having visible house numbers to aid public safety personnel in quickly locating a residence, Kee said, which are all legitimate concerns. The problem, he said, is city code requires the numbers be posted on the house and easily visible from the street. "There are no emergency services vehicles here in Ontario that look for street addresses on the curb," Kee said. "People are doing it for peace of mind, but they shouldn't, because it does no good. There's not a piece of emergency equipment that looks for addresses on the curb." The curb painting group was asked on different occasions, by the police, to leave town. "They didn't have a license and had been told before that we had a law against it and they chose to come back anyway," Kee said. The chief also advised Ontario residents to be on the lookout for driveway and roof scams, where homeowners are charged large sums of money for unnecessary home repairs. Again, it is typically the elderly who are targeted in these operations. Kee said he believes there are a number of people who have been victimized that never come forward to report the crime because they feel embarrassed. "They know they've been scammed. They've heard all the warnings about not letting these people in and they did it anyway," Kee said. That should not keep people from reporting the crime, Kee said. "I think the main thing I'd like people to do, and I say this every year, is call us," Kee said. "That's what we're here for."