Spring and summer are door-to-door sales time.

Some of the callers will be selling legitimate products or services but others’ intent will be to rip you off. We are going to concentrate on the crooks. There are a number of ploys that are used to gain entry to your home and your pocketbook.

A common scam is someone posing as an employee of a utility company, who claims to need access to your house to check the water pipes or test the electricity. Don’t believe it. If you have not called a utility company for service, then you need to check out these claims by contacting the utility company and finding out if there really is a problem in your neighborhood.

Other common themes include the person who tries to tug at your heartstrings by saying they need your help or their family will go hungry. Others tell you that part of the money you spend on magazines will be donated to a charity. Another common ploy is to tell you they are working in your community but can’t provide a name as a reference.