2econd Chance review: Scam 1

A young man came to my door today selling "magazine subscriptions." He told me he was from a local Pittsburgh Community that is very poor (he knew the name of the community) and said he had a chance to improve himself by working for a charitable organization that provided educational opportunities for young men and women who were trying to improve themselves. He stated that he dreamed of a future in the culinary arts and wanted to have a family that he could afford to raise in a safe neighborhood. Having been exposed to a past of crime and gang life, he was trying to rise above his past through a program that could assist in his education. He had a list of many of my neighbors, in their handwriting, who had ordered magazine subscriptions from him to help raise money for his education. Rather than cluttering my home with magazines, he suggested I order a magazine to be donated to the boys and girls club. I live in an upscale community now, but I was raised in a working class family and worked in the health field for 20 years in an inner city emergency room where gang violence was a daily reality. So, he had me feeling sympathetic to the idea of helping him with his future, as well as the idea of donating to boys and girls club. My husband makes a very good living, and we try our best to be charitible to those less fortunate. But, I noticed these subscriptions seemed rather expensive. He had official looking paperwork, receipts, and order forms. He said he could take cash or a check. Just then my husband, who is not quite as trusting as I, came home from work. He looked very dubious when I told him who this person was and what I was ordering. Unfortunately, I had already given him a check. My husband took the receipt and immediately looked these people up online. Immediately, we discovered this was a known scam. I got in my car and drove around the neighborhood. I found the guy about 3 blocks away, pulled over and demanded he return my check. He still pretended to be very courteous and apologetic, but told me he needed his receipt back or he would have to pay the money back himself. I told him " You stay right here, and I will go get your receipt and bring it back." Then I called the police and had them pick him up. They said they have been getting calls daily about these guys but had not been able to get ahold of them until today. they brought him in, confiscated his cash and paperwork, and arrested him But they told me these guys are all over the country, so if you just had one at your door, call the cops immediately. There is real organization called Second Chance that does real good, but they say in bold print on their website that they have no door-to-door people, and they do not sell magazine subscriptions. This guy was African American around 25-28 years old