Fremont Police Warn Against Opening Door to Strangers

Announcement, photo submitted by City of Fremont:

Think twice before opening your door to a stranger. Door-to-door solicitors may pretend to be selling products or offering services, but they could be casing the neighborhood for a home to burglarize. Follow these steps to keep yourself and your home safe:

Do not open your door when someone knocks. Check through a peephole or window before opening your door to anyone. Burglars commonly ring the doorbell to see if anyone is home before breaking and entering. If you do not let that person know you are home, they may choose your house to burglarize. Once they move to the side or backyard out of view from the street, they have lots of time to find a way to break in.

What should you do instead? If you get an unexpected knock on the door and do not recognize the person, do not open the door. Speak to the person through the door and tell them directly, “I am not interested in anything you are offering. Please move on.”

What if you are home alone? Just because you are alone, doesn’t mean you have to reveal that to the stranger at your door. Talk to an imaginary person and say, “Just a moment. Let me see who is at my door. I’m not expecting anyone else today.” Let aggressive strangers know that you are home, you have a visitor and you have no intention of opening the door to them. Do not engage in conversation with them.

Should you call the police? What if they persist? What if they don’t ‘move on’?

Yes. Call the Fremont Police non-emergency number 790-6800, option 3 to report them if:
You feel threatened, you think they are suspicious, or they do not leave your doorstep when you ask. Tell them you are calling the police.

Post a “No Solicitors” sign on your front door. If a solicitor arrives on your front step unannounced, yell firmly through your closed door, “Read the sign.”

Post a “Beware of Dog” sign

Having a large barking dog is handy to deter these burglars. You may just want to have a ‘Beware of Dog’ sign.

What if they have a permit?

There is a Fremont ordinance requiring a permit for door-to-door solicitation for sales and services. Most solicitors will carry around something that looks like a permit and it may or may not be valid. Even if they have a permit, you are not obligated to engage in conversation or open the door.

You can view the Municipal Code 5-4116 at www.Fremont.gov/MunicipalCode.