[nanci2539]

I received the following message from my neighbor today. Has anyone heard about this?

We were at a friends house yesterday in Duval sitting in their living room......a guy walked into their lanai and tried to open the sliding door into their bedroom. He did not knock....just tried to open the slider. When he found it locked he immediately left. Our friend went out immediately and asked him what he was looking for....he said "another address".....to fertilize the lawn....????

Also, there was a woman in Lynnhaven got out of the shower and found a lady in her house with a roll of paper towels. She asked her what she was doing in her house. She said she was going door to door looking for houses to clean and giving everyone a "free roll of paper towels"....She told her to get out of her house immediately! This was reported at the Lynnhaven ladies luncheon and several others commented she had been to their door, but declined cleaning offer. There was a car out front with a guy in it......(The thought was they were also looking for things "to take")....

We get a false sense of security living in The Villages. Please pass this on to everyone you know and please KEEP YOUR DOORS LOCKED! (Even the garage door coming into the house if you have your garage door open)......

Wendy

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by nanci2539

I received the following message from my neighbor today. Has anyone heard about this?

We were at a friends house yesterday in Duval sitting in their living room......a guy walked into their lanai and tried to open the sliding door into their bedroom. He did not knock....just tried to open the slider. When he found it locked he immediately left. Our friend went out immediately and asked him what he was looking for....he said "another address".....to fertilize the lawn....????

Also, there was a woman in Lynnhaven got out of the shower and found a lady in her house with a roll of paper towels. She asked her what she was doing in her house. She said she was going door to door looking for houses to clean and giving everyone a "free roll of paper towels"....She told her to get out of her house immediately! This was reported at the Lynnhaven ladies luncheon and several others commented she had been to their door, but declined cleaning offer. There was a car out front with a guy in it......(The thought was they were also looking for things "to take")....

We get a false sense of security living in The Villages. Please pass this on to everyone you know and please KEEP YOUR DOORS LOCKED! (Even the garage door coming into the house if you have your garage door open)......
Wendy

The things urban ledgends are made of.
BTW where did your neighbor get this information?

[nanci2539]

This is a friend of my neighbors and she witnessed this at her friends home in Duval. I doubt if this is a made up story but I am trying to verify it.

How do you know it's a urban legend?

[JohnN]

I keep my doors locked everywhere just because that's how it is these days.

[tony]

We really need to know if this is definitely true or not. If you cannot find the person who was directly affected, I would assume it is an urban legend. Urban legends are exactly like this: You never ever can find the specific person. Everytime you get to the "correct" person, you find that it goes back to yet another person, who, it turns out, heard it from somebody else.

Why didn't anybody call the police? I agree this rings of an urban legend. If we are not certain of its veracity, we will remove this thread.

I trust that everyone knows he or she should keep doors locked.

[nanci2539]

I checked this out - my neighbor knows the women personally who sent this to her. She's credible and was at her friends home and witnessed this man tryng to get into the house. The house has a slider entrance to the master bedroom.

My neighbor is not the type to send something questionable around. She knows this person and gave me her phone number if I want to talk to her.

I beleive this is true - my neighbor doesn't even send around jokes! But if you question it and feel it should be removed, that's fine.

[samhass]

I have met Nancy and found her to be a very credible person. I think her advice to keep your doors locked is wise. Stranger things have happened in TV.

[dillywho]

If you do, just talk to the guys at Metro Crime Prevention....they have facts and figures to back it up. This is happening in TV and all around. If you have never been to one of their presentations, next time you hear of one, please go. They are available for presentations to any group, large or small (even one-on-one if you'd like). They give you tips for your safety not only at home, but on ID Theft, parking lots, the Vial of Life program sponsored by the Sheriff's Dept - Fire Dept. - Hospitals- Red Cross. Thie number is 352-401-0177 or pm me and I'll see about giving you another number or so. No, I don't work for them but know that what they teach you is very worthwhile.....things you don't always think about until it is too late.

[bimmertl]

Not able to confirm any of the stories posted. However, last week we were home and the doorbell rang. There was a man at the door offering cleaning services and if we agreed to let him give us an estimate we would get free paper towels, which he had in his hand.

We live in Springdale.

[dillywho]

There are not supposed to be any door-to-door solicitors in TV. Sounds like a call to TV Administration is in order to report these people. As for the starter on this thread, please pay attention and do not doubt her. As has been stated time after time, this is a great place to live but not perfect. Just don't let your guard down. Checking with the Sheriff's Office might not be a bad idea, either. They will also do a free home inspection to let you know where you might be vulnerable. When in doubt, err on the side of caution...can't hurt.

[MelZ]

Whether this is an Urban Myth or not it's an excellent reminder for the use of common sense and caution.

[graciegirl]

This is an old thread.

The subject of locking doors comes up a lot around here. I feel completely safe home with the doors unlocked. Just as safe as I feel in Ohio.

My neighbor who is from a heavily populated area of the east coast does not.

We kiddingly argue about it all of the time.

Nothing has changed my mind in the almost two years we have owned here.

I may be wrong...as Russ always says.

[cher54461]

Originally Posted by tony

We really need to know if this is definitely true or not. If you cannot find the person who was directly affected, I would assume it is an urban legend. Urban legends are exactly like this: You never ever can find the specific person. Everytime you get to the "correct" person, you find that it goes back to yet another person, who, it turns out, heard it from somebody else.

Why didn't anybody call the police? I agree this rings of an urban legend. If we are not certain of its veracity, we will remove this thread.

I trust that everyone knows he or she should keep doors locked.

That girl came to my door. I sent her away. I live north of 466. It is not made up. She had paper towels in her hand.

[nanci2539]

First of all, Thanks Sam; it was nice of you to comment. Secondly, I just don't have time to post stuff that doesn't make sense to me. I know the person who sent this, she knows the person who witnessed it and now we have posters who confirm the man/lady with the paper towels trying to get into your home. It's called casing the place!

We live in an almost perfect Village right but if you read posts over the past few years, you'll finid similar stories about people trying to deliver flowers at 10PM or break in's while people are in the home.

These stories seldom make it to the Daily Sun and sometimes we forget that we have crime here too.

So, that being said, I felt I was doing a service - this isn't a Urban Myth.

[English Ivy]

A couple of weeks ago I had a young woman holding a roll of paper towels at my front door in Village of Bonita (not too far from Duval). She wanted to clean something but I cut her off, said no thank you and she got in a vehicle (mini-van?) that had several other people in it.

I thought about calling Community Watch because of the no solicitors policy of The Villages, but I didn't. Wish I had. I have called CW in the past about solicitors and they do come out and talk with them and advise they cannot go door to door. So this is a good service that CW provides, even if they don't jump your dead battery (see other post).

The Villages is a lovely community that has less crime than most areas, but if you think you're perfectly safe here and nothing can happen to you in "the bubble", you could be in for a bad surprise.