Beaufort residents: Be careful to whom you open your front doors

Beaufort Police Department is warning residents of suspicious individuals going door-to-door in the Mossy Oaks area soon after Bluffton area residents were warned of something similar.

Through social media, police have been informed of solicitors going door-to-door telling people they’re selling magazines for charity, according to a department notice to the public posted on Facebook.

In the comments, people chimed in with their own accounts of the suspicious salesmen, telling of younger adults asking to speak with homeowners, looking to sell things or saying they’re participating in a competition but declining to provide any personal information in return. Several people tagged friends and family, and nearly 200 people shared the post to spread the word.

Any group or business operating in this manner would be required to have a business license to do this, and “there are currently no business licenses issued by the City of Beaufort for such activity,” according to police. Anything suspicious should be reported to local authorities.

This warning, posted Friday morning, came just one day after Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office warned of similar activity in Bluffton area neighborhoods and only hours after Bluffton Police Department warned town residents of the same thing. In some of those instances, the suspicious individuals even offered to drive the residents to an ATM if the resident said he or she didn’t have any cash on hand.

This story was originally published October 8, 2017 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Beaufort residents: Be careful to whom you open your front doors."