Stranger just knocked at door...

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

Wow that sounds scary. I’m the same as you, I don’t open the door if I don’t know them. I look on the camera and if it’s not someone I know, I don’t even move sometimes in the hope they’ll leave... or sometimes I’ll open the first porch door and shout through the other one “what do you want?” My MIL laughs at me, but I watch a lot of crime shows!

I always remember once when I lived with my mum some man banged on the door so hard and was shouting through the letter box, “open the fucking door now you cunt, I know you’re in there”. Me and my mum crapped ourselves, anyway next minute he came back and shouted “sorry, wrong house, really sorry.” And drove off...we think it’s because we lived on a big long lane and a half way down the numbers go back to the start, but it changes to a different lane name, so we are guessing he got the wrong 70.

 

[Scorpihoe]

This has never happened to me, but I would say “sorry no Dave here” and then as you’re closing the door and he’s leaving, say really loudly to your ‘husband’ behind the door “oh just a man asking if a Dave lived here”

so he thinks you’re not alone

 

[TwooTwooTwitTwitTwoo]

Wow that sounds scary. I’m the same as you, I don’t open the door if I don’t know them. I look on the camera and if it’s not someone I know, I don’t even move sometimes in the hope they’ll leave... or sometimes I’ll open the first porch door and shout through the other one “what do you want?” My MIL laughs at me, but I watch a lot of crime shows!

I always remember once when I lived with my mum some man banged on the door so hard and was shouting through the letter box, “open the fucking door now you cunt, I know you’re in there”. Me and my mum crapped ourselves, anyway next minute he came back and shouted “sorry, wrong house, really sorry.” And drove off...we think it’s because we lived on a big long lane and a half way down the numbers go back to the start, but it changes to a different lane name, so we are guessing he got the wrong 70.

I know it shouldn't have but that last bit really made me laugh. Just the fact he popped back to apologise.

 

[Yoghurtpots]

About 30 mins ago there was a knock at my front door. I don't expect anyone to knock at this time, and as it's pitch black out, I went to the window to see who it was. It was some bloke who I've never seen before.

I asked him what he wanted and he said he was sorry to bother me but did anyone called Dave live here (no, it wasn't Papa Lazarou for any League of Gentleman fans ) I said there wasn't and he acknowledged that and went back down the path into his car and drove off.

I had a nosey down the path. I live in a very long, straight road, and he didn't stop anywhere else.

Now, I'm on my own and I watch too much true crime in Netflix, but does anyone else find things like this a bit weird?

He could have stopped at other houses before mine - but Dave is such a common name that it's likely someone will be called it if he's knocking at lots of housed - What then?

Maybe he was buying something from Dave but why the hell knock on my door? And why not offer up a bit more info if your knocking on a stranger's house?

I think I'm a bit worried my address has been given to someone randomly who could be a bit dodgy or something.

Anyone else ever had anything similar?

I accidentally gave all my personal details to a scammer (address, name, bank details), he rang me last night and said if I don't hand over my online banking information that he is going to come to my billing address and kill me had police involved who told me to lock doors and windows and not be by myself! They also put my house on red alert and said to ring them if I see anyone outside my house.
So I can totally understand your fear and paranoia and why you would be worried.
I am investing in a ring door bell so I can screen who is at my door. Would you consider that? Also the usual locked doors and windows. I am also buying pepper spray from next door from my work as I want some form of self defense (I am a 5.2 woman with zero strength). I also have a button alarm next to my front door. My advice is to up your security and have a plan to defend yourself. I know its not a nice thing to have to think about but if you don't feel safe then make steps to feel secure.

 

[littlepup]

If this happens again, call 101 and log it and ask if they’ve had any other reports in your area. Check your property too for any chalk marks etc
Is your house in a row or fairly unique? It’s odd they didn’t stop elsewhere but they could have perhaps rechecked the address at the car and realised their mistake.


I’m very rural, very few homes, far apart. Few years ago I’m living on a building site as we renovate, a fella knocked at my door about 2am (lights were on, I was up), scared and out of breath. Glass door so he could see me & says through it ‘has anyone ran up this way? I live (a few houses away) Someone’s just stolen my trailer’.
Like a total idiot I opened the door. ‘Shit’ I said. ‘There’s a thief in the area? oh and we’ve got the mini digger on hire and all the builders tools. Oh and....’ pretty much reeled off a list of every valuable while I looked around with a torch and a total stranger who’s word I took that he was a neighbour, thinking I was safer with him than from this ‘thief’. Anyway, he leaves again on foot and it dawns on me not only did I pretty much give this guy a tour of our stuff but confirmed I was alone at 2am. He’d said he’d reported it to the police so I called 101 who confirmed they did have such a report on file and he was legit, thank God.
Honestly one of the most stupid things I’ve ever done but even a cynical, trust no one person like me, without time to think just took it at face value. It’s easily done!

 

[Yoghurtpots]

If you don’t mind me asking, how did you give those details out to a scammer? I’ve had a lot of alerts to online database leaks of late so I’m REAL paranoid about all this right now.

I recieved a text message telling me that my 02 bill hadn't been paid and to click the link and pay it. It made sense to me because my business account had froze my money due to not updating my company details (I mean how scary is that, that the bank can just turn your money off and give you no access! Scary thought if we become cashless). So I clicked on the link from 'O2' and it looked genuinely like 02s website. It asked me to put in my bank details to get it paid which I did (as by this point Natwest had allowed me access to my money). Then after I'd 'paid' it transferred me to the real 02 site which was when I realised I had been scammed. It just clicked. I informed bank etc. Scammers have been ringing me since, they can even clone the banks phone number so be careful guys! They nearly had me again haha. Anyways, I am switched on now and because of this they threatened to come to my house and kill me. Thankfully I have my husband so that gives me a bit of security but I feel so sorry for the elderly. It really is terrifying and intimidating to have somebody, a stranger threaten you for money. I am glad I'm not on sm and that they don't know my childrens name etc as I think if they threatened them I would just hand over everything! Its a scary world guys

 

[Pixie1]

I recieved a text message telling me that my 02 bill hadn't been paid and to click the link and pay it. It made sense to me because my business account had froze my money due to not updating my company details (I mean how scary is that, that the bank can just turn your money off and give you no access! Scary thought if we become cashless). So I clicked on the link from 'O2' and it looked genuinely like 02s website. It asked me to put in my bank details to get it paid which I did (as by this point Natwest had allowed me access to my money). Then after I'd 'paid' it transferred me to the real 02 site which was when I realised I had been scammed. It just clicked. I informed bank etc. Scammers have been ringing me since, they can even clone the banks phone number so be careful guys! They nearly had me again haha. Anyways, I am switched on now and because of this they threatened to come to my house and kill me. Thankfully I have my husband so that gives me a bit of security but I feel so sorry for the elderly. It really is terrifying and intimidating to have somebody, a stranger threaten you for money. I am glad I'm not on sm and that they don't know my childrens name etc as I think if they threatened them I would just hand over everything! Its a scary world guys

I really don't know how some people sleep at night! The world is full of scumbags! That must've been terrifying for you, I hope you're okay xx

 

[Base2019]

That sounds so scary. Definitely invest in a ring doorbell. They have good Black Friday deals on.
We got one as my husband works away at times. Means you can answer the door from your phone and look to see who is there without going to the door. You can speak through it aswell. You can also set a motion detector so if someone is nosing outside your house you will get a notification and can see/speak to them.
I remember one day I was working and a random lady we don’t know was looking through our windows/front door and under our doormat. She also parked her car away from our drive and walked down, even tho there was no cars there. It was so freaky. She then went to go round the back of our house but thankfully we had a lock on the gate.
If we didn’t have the ring doorbell I never would have known she was there - the motion detector picked up on it.

 

[Woolmercardington]

Hi, OP here

Yes, I'm all good. Thank you to those who were concerned Also, thank you for all the security advice. Much appreciated.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets spooked by things like this. I do, for the most part, think they are genuine mistakes, but would it have killed the bloke to offer up a bit of an explanation if he was genuine? Just a quick, "Oh sorry, doing an ebay pickup and a bit confused about the location, sorry to have disturbed you."

I remember years ago, when I lived with my mum and dad. A weird handwritten note came through the door with my mum's first name on it about the car bump that had happened and signed with a name and number.

My mum called it and some young bloke answered saying his mate had had a minor car bump and this was the name and address the woman driving the other car had given him. Mum asked what this woman looked like, all that was offered up was that she was wearing a uniform/tunic.

Now, my mum did wear a tunic for her work. It was her name. The woman give him our address. But... my mum doesn't even drive!! She explained this but was really freaked out that these men had our address and were saying they'd had a car accident. And just who had given them her details?

She got my dad to ring them later that evening. Just to try and clarify what this was about and so they knew a man lived here. They seemed to get a bit rattled and started saying they could come and put a brick through our window if they wanted!

Mum is totally stressed. Then at 11.30pm that night, there was a knock on the door and it was these men! They were civil but had clearly come to check out the car in the drive (my dad's) to see if it was the same car they'd had this supposed bump with and to check whether my mum was the woman.

She said when she answered the door he turned to his mate, who was in the car, and his mate shook his head, as much as to say, no that's not her.

It was a total mystery. But for days later my mum would lurk by the window and have an instant heart attack whenever a car would pull up It's cases of mistake identity that I tend to find the most alarming.

But no, I never answer the door to anyone I don't know no matter what the time of day. There are plenty of opportunists around just looking to see who lives there.

Oh, and no, I don't have a dog. I have two cats, but I'm fairly certain one if them would rip someone's face off if she got the chance

 

[Barbie2020]

Oh this creeps me out. As someone who watches too many true crime shows and partner works away in the week I’m constantly on edge. I don’t sleep properly at all when I’m on my own. Hope you’re ok OP

 

[Countrybumpkingirl]

My first thought would be someone looking to steal a dog. It is happening a scary amount in rural areas atm. If he knocked and a dog had barked, he would know you had one and potentially they would come back to try and take. If you do have a dog please keep it safe and check outside the property for any markings left

 

[GiftedNotFree]

I live alone and have a ring doorbell. They are really good for peace of mind I also got a sign for the gate that says ‘beware of the dog’ even though I don’t have a dog. I also have a sign on the door that says no cold callers. That definitely cuts down on random people knocking on my door, I think.

 

[Woolmercardington]

About 30 mins ago there was a knock at my front door. I don't expect anyone to knock at this time, and as it's pitch black out, I went to the window to see who it was. It was some bloke who I've never seen before.

I asked him what he wanted and he said he was sorry to bother me but did anyone called Dave live here (no, it wasn't Papa Lazarou for any League of Gentleman fans ) I said there wasn't and he acknowledged that and went back down the path into his car and drove off.

I had a nosey down the path. I live in a very long, straight road, and he didn't stop anywhere else.

Now, I'm on my own and I watch too much true crime in Netflix, but does anyone else find things like this a bit weird?

He could have stopped at other houses before mine - but Dave is such a common name that it's likely someone will be called it if he's knocking at lots of housed - What then?

Maybe he was buying something from Dave but why the hell knock on my door? And why not offer up a bit more info if your knocking on a stranger's house?

I think I'm a bit worried my address has been given to someone randomly who could be a bit dodgy or something.

Anyone else ever had anything similar?

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

I recieved a text message telling me that my 02 bill hadn't been paid and to click the link and pay it. It made sense to me because my business account had froze my money due to not updating my company details (I mean how scary is that, that the bank can just turn your money off and give you no access! Scary thought if we become cashless). So I clicked on the link from 'O2' and it looked genuinely like 02s website. It asked me to put in my bank details to get it paid which I did (as by this point Natwest had allowed me access to my money). Then after I'd 'paid' it transferred me to the real 02 site which was when I realised I had been scammed. It just clicked. I informed bank etc. Scammers have been ringing me since, they can even clone the banks phone number so be careful guys! They nearly had me again haha. Anyways, I am switched on now and because of this they threatened to come to my house and kill me. Thankfully I have my husband so that gives me a bit of security but I feel so sorry for the elderly. It really is terrifying and intimidating to have somebody, a stranger threaten you for money. I am glad I'm not on sm and that they don't know my childrens name etc as I think if they threatened them I would just hand over everything! Its a scary world guys

I had one of those texts about three months back! I actually used to be with o2, but I switched about a year ago. I can’t believe they rang you and threatened you, that is terrifying and absolutely awful. I knew that they could impersonate other numbers as my partner works in IT and he can do it as well, it’s quite an easy thing to do, it’s so scary. You can’t trust anything these days.

You even have to be careful googling the numbers for places. I used to work for an airline and we had quite a few customers ring up saying that they had found our number online and rang it, but they had realised half way through the call that it wasn’t us and that they had been scammed. Basically they had been booking flights or whatever and the person had impersonated us and made it all sound genuine and then had took card details, they’d even told people that their cards had been declined and had asked them to use others, which they did. The problem was because it was a big airline, the call centre could get very busy, so customers would google numbers for us to see if they could find a secret number to get through quicker. Scary stuff.

 

[Pixie1]

About 30 mins ago there was a knock at my front door. I don't expect anyone to knock at this time, and as it's pitch black out, I went to the window to see who it was. It was some bloke who I've never seen before.

I asked him what he wanted and he said he was sorry to bother me but did anyone called Dave live here (no, it wasn't Papa Lazarou for any League of Gentleman fans ) I said there wasn't and he acknowledged that and went back down the path into his car and drove off.

I had a nosey down the path. I live in a very long, straight road, and he didn't stop anywhere else.

Now, I'm on my own and I watch too much true crime in Netflix, but does anyone else find things like this a bit weird?

He could have stopped at other houses before mine - but Dave is such a common name that it's likely someone will be called it if he's knocking at lots of housed - What then?

Maybe he was buying something from Dave but why the hell knock on my door? And why not offer up a bit more info if your knocking on a stranger's house?

I think I'm a bit worried my address has been given to someone randomly who could be a bit dodgy or something.

Anyone else ever had anything similar?

I got a shiver down my spine reading your post ! . You were right to be cautious though. You cant be too careful nowadays

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

I know it shouldn't have but that last bit really made me laugh. Just the fact he popped back to apologise.

Hahah it made us laugh too afterwards! I mean maybe he was a nice bloke deep down, but someone had upset him badly!

 

[Base2019]

I know there was talk where I live of where they would call at houses and ask for someone random but it was all to suss out if you have dogs/pets in your house. If you did they would mark your house with chalk and come back to attempt to steal the dog quite scary. Also heard of them using a different marker if they thought there was valuables in the house to come back for. It’s been in the local news a lot here recently, they think it’s because there is such a big demand for dogs in lockdown. Heartbreaking

 

[Pixie1]

Thank you all for the positive feedback regarding the Ring doorbell thingys. I will definitely be looking into getting one for my daughter. It will give us both peace of mind.

 

[Scorpihoe]

I really want OP to come back and update us that she’s fine

 

[GiftedNotFree]

Has anyone ever had a man walking behind them of a night? Perfectly innocent, not up to anything dodgy, but instead of having any kind of awareness that the woman in front of them might feel a bit anxious about having him walking closely behind her, he carries on doing it instead of maybe crossing over or simply excusing himself with a simple. "Sorry, I'll just get past you there."

A friend pulled a bloke up for that once. She was walking to her car in a very dark, lonely area. It was after work, so not very late, but he just kept a steady pace behind her to the point she turned around and politely but firmly asked if he'd like to get passed as he'd been walking behind her for quite a while and she wouldn't want anyone to think he was following a lone woman down a dark road. She said he clearly looked like a businessman and was very sheepish and apologised.

Technically he'd not done anything wrong, but just have that bit of awareness, honestly.

Honestly, I think this is fine to do if you are scared and it will mean this person will think twice about a similar scenario in the future.

Kind of semi related: if you’re unsure if someone is following you, either on foot or in the car, take 3 consecutive right turns. If you’re going in a circle, why is the person behind you also going in a circle!