Kids Selling Magazine Subscriptions - Should We Worry?

Passed along without comment:

Hi Editors,
I was wondering if you had had any reports of a door to door magazine sales scam going around? A young man from an organization called PS Circulation rang our door bell today and the scenario was this: a well dressed young man (with a tie on) rings your bell, he asks you about your hobbies, your interests, tells you he is working on his people skills, he eventually tells you he is selling magazines and he gets "points" for each sale - and that part of this is a fundraiser for the Third St. Children's Center In Mission Bay. Next thing, he asks you for a drink of water (and some people have invited them in!) and eventually convinces you to buy some magazines and give him a check.

Just curious if anyone else had written in about concerns with this organization because it seems like a scam from what I read online.

Thanks!
**** (Noe Valley resident for 36 years)

What say you, Noe Valley?

This Week In Noe Valley: Orange October, Harvest Fest, And Other Signs of Fall

News from, about and for Noe Valley from around the interwebs:

• It was Harvest this weekend and Scott Wiener was there [@Scott_Wiener]
• So were Carol Kingsley and David Campos [Carol Kingsley and @DavidCamposSF]
• Orange October indeed: Beautiful Noe Valley sunsets [ktmow and andrewgodwin]
• And the hayride not operated by Uber [brianalvey]
• A short video of Trolley Dancers that rode the J-Church line this weekend [swim97]
• And an in-depth piece about said Trolley Dancers [KALW]
• Bom Dia corner market gets closer – and they're hiring [Good Food Jobs]
• Sorry #NoeDads – Hooters is not replacing Bliss Bar [San Francisco]
• A discerning review of Rare Device [SF Girl by Bay]
• After a recent facelift, Noe Valley Bakery launches a Kickstarter to raise $19,000 for...a facelift (because France) [Kickstarter]
• Man rear-ended, then pistol-whipped at 24th and Dolores [SF Examiner]
• KRON goes to the scene of the crime and interviews neighbors who feel less safe now [KRON4]
• Beware of this potentially dangerous Comcast scam [@paulettebleam]
• An in-depth review of Porcellino's pork ragu that survives from Incanto [SFGate]
• Meanwhile, Cosentino hopes to branch out at his new restaurant Cockscomb [SFGate]
• San Francisco and Noe Valley are tops for trick or treating once again [Zillow]
• Are there any grown-ups in SF? Yes, and they're all at Urban Putt [SFGate]

[Photo: NVSF]

Scam Alert: Curb Number Painters Target Noe Valley

An old scam is back. The economy must be improving if the dregs of the con artist world can afford to flyer the neighborhood and buy stencils and spray paint. Murphstahoe tweeted (with photo) the first reference to this go-around and we've seen many since. Today we received the above image of the succinct notice left on L's door (typos and grammar errors preserved):

IMPORTANT NOTICE
Tomorrow fresh new address numbers will be painted on the curb in front of all the homes on your block, this is an important service as this is where Police, Fire, Delivery and Emergency personnel first look for your home. We estimate the value of the curb number to be $15.00, however, all donations, large or small, are greatly appreciated, if you do not wish to have this paint service performed, please tape a Notice to your curb and we will bypass your home.

Thank you!
Community Services

We couldn't find anything on the SFGov website to explain the process for painting curb numbers (however if you'd like to paint the curb around your driveway red check this out). But there are plenty of references to this scam around the country: Los Angeles (2009); Cleveland (2008); Gilroy (2006); Houston (2002); and (originally?) Los Angeles (1997) with the comment: "The scam has been going on sporadically for more than 20 years." Even Yelpers are on to this one.

So when you see address numbers painted on the curb...Is that resident a rube? A target?