COCHRAN, Ga. — ADT said back in May that it was expecting a ‘record year’ for door-knocking deception. A 61-year-old woman here did her part to keep two scammers from taking advantage of her and entering her home.
Margaret Knight received a knock on her door from Skyler and Madeline Newby in April as the two presented themselves as ADT workers. They told Knight they needed to get into her house to put a chip in her home security system so she could receive free life alert.
But Knight, a longtime customer of ADT, was smart and knew the security company didn’t send people to her house randomly.
“They tried everything to get into my house, and there is no telling what they would’ve done if they did get into my house,” Knight told 41NBC.
Knight also knew something was up when she saw on Madeline Newby’s clipboard that they used Knight’s maiden name. She called ADT and gave the information of the two people that came to her door and confirmed her suspicions: The two were not with the company.
Skyler and Madeline Newby were arrested a month later while continuing to try to scam residents.
Related: ADT Braces for ‘Record Year’ of Door-Knocking Deception
ADT Public Relations Director Bob Tucker told SSI last month that the company had setup a hot line number for situations such as these.
One scary detail about Knight’s incident was the information the two scammers somehow got access to: “He had enough information on me to know what kind of system I had, and ADT wants to know how he got that,” she said.
