Badges or company ID cards? If it's badges, have them arrested.

Ugh these guys are hitting again, we got hit at least 3 times during the summer in the Buffalo, NY area. They seemed to hit on the hottest days of the year when we had our door open. Thankfully my family knows how to take care of these people. If your in Buffalo or surrounding cities watch out for these guys.

pics of these hot women?

@krispykrink: ID cards in plastic holders hanging around their necks (think conference IDs).

Chris, knowing their track record at IDT, I think you could rework the title of your article.

IDT Scammers Back in Brooklyn, Working Their Back Door Magic.

Ties in very nicely to the immoral double-ended male adapters from Ace Hardware.

When they come to my apartment door, I ask them to wait a moment then return holding my ConEd bill and totally naked.

Something about a zaftig, naked middle-aged woman seems to scare them off.

If it wasn't for marketing like this, nobody would drink Red Bull or Jagrmeister, either.

@SheLaughs:

Zaftig...good word.

I prefer "bal-guf" myself. :D

And to think I used to work for IDT doing tech support/sales....shudders.

@Squeezer99: Pics or it didnt happen...

@The Name's Ash78, Housewares: If it wasn't for Red Bull, nobody would drink Jaeger.

Where I live this stuff wouldn't work. We only have 1 phone company, 1 Electric/Gas company, and only 1 cable company. No competition what-so-ever.

I'm sure some marketing PR types could spin this as a wonderfully good thing for the consumer.

@samurailynn: Huh I would of said if it wasn't for Jaeger no one would drink Red Bull.

Its some kind of bizarre beverage paradox.

@samurailynn:

If it wasn't for Jaeger, I would still have my job.

I had the Jehovahs visit this past week...8:30 am on New Year's Day, in fact.

@krispykrink: ...c-c-can't r-r-r-resist ...

We don't need no stinking badges!

@ekthesy:

Did they ask to see your energy bill?

@sebadoh128: If it wasn't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college

@SheLaughs: I'm definitely putting on an IDT suit and knocking on your door!

@ekthesy: They'd need Jehovah's help if they knocked on *MY* door at 0830 on a holiday-recovery day like that. Knocking on the door sets off the dogs, and having the dogs barking before I'm awake makes me extra cranky.

Dear Consumerist,

Thank You!! I had enrolled in IDT 2 months ago on the recommendation of my girlfriend (who does not read consumerist) and after seeing this story I called right away to cancel my plan. An IDT rep told me my plan would end after this billing cycle. I called ConEd to confirm and they told me that IDT typically continues service for up to 3 billing cycles and that it is not at all uncommon for their reps to give misleading statements like that. I've learned my lesson and owe it all to consumerist.com THANK YOU!!!! For anyone wanting to cancel their plan make sure you request a written confirmation!!

@krispykrink: The ones who hit my building also had badges...I too sent another tip about these guys recently (but I'm sure many others have as well). They identified themselves as the "electric company" and the only reason I buzzed them in was the 1% chance it really was National Grid to do a repair.

When they reached my door they kept knocking repeatedly, and the girl was TAPPING HER FAKE NAILS ON THE DOOR while making fun of my pet rescue sticker. I finally opened the door, asked, "IDT?" and they said, "yes" and I slammed the door in their faces (the boy and girl were not hot by any stretch of the imagination). On the way out they buzzed several times as a "fuck you" gesture.

@ekthesy: I want to see a Jehovah's at my door.

I think it'd really throw them off if you knock back at them while the door is still closed, and if the UPS guy sticks a package on the door, right while he's doing that, punch the door where he is sticking it on.

/ramble

@Nick1693: *package return slip or whatever.

@Underpants Gnome:

Are you trying to give me an aneurism?

@richcreamerybutter: You could still file a report or call the Police while they're in the building for misrepresenting themselves as "the electric company".

The only reason why I asked if we were talking badges or ID cards is because we had a guy in our complex with a fake badge and calling himself a fire marshal in order to gain entry into apartments. A non-brute force home invasion.

I just had a great idea... How about we all start taking photos of people who come to our door and post them online. Might be an interesting way to deter people...

@krispykrink: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind! For the record, every IDT incident in my building has involved solicitors with badges (around the neck).

@vk2tds: I would so come to the door with a video camera.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm from..."

"Less talk. More gyration."

@ekthesy: @ekthesy: I loves me some Jehovah action. Unfortunately, I think they put a note on my file not to come to my house anymore. Posing deep theological questions creates total roblock in these types.

@Ingram81:

I want the pics

@vk2tds:

There may be laws against this especially if they do not give you consent.

Furthermore, you may open yourself up to a liability suit if anything happens to the persons photographed or videotaped because of your photograph/video. For example, an overzealous person attacks someone who looks like(or may very well be) the person you "outed".

@samurailynn: People drink Jaeger?

@kmw2: Everyone has has Jaeger...once.

Hey Chris,

You should start some sort of humorous personal crusade for when they show up at your doorstep... perhaps call the cops and then follow them around until the cops show up?

Or just follow them with a video camera and annoy them. Surely that's no more illegal than what they're doing? Not sure, but it could be funny.

Cheers for the heads up for everybody in that region of the US!

And all this time I thought my actual electric company was scamming me...

My husband loves to have Mormons drop by (I apologize in advance if you are Mormon).. when he opens the door and finds out who they are, he returns with gold-sprayed aspirin and tells them he already has golden tablets.

@rekoil: Personally I like Jaeger. I had a german friend who put me onto it, not as a shot, but just something you sip. I'll never forget him in his thick german accent asking for "a jaegermeister to nip on..." Then again I <3333 black licorice too.

@krispykrink:Your point is well-taken, to be sure. Fake badges are, indeed, a problem.

Understand, though, that it's not incorrect to call a company-issued ID card a badge. Merriam-Webster defines a badge as "a device or token especially of membership in a society or group". As such, if someone casually refers to it as a badge, it's not really incorrect.

IDT must be expanding their NYC operations. I saw one of their vans in Kew Gardens (Queens) this weekend while I was out grocery shopping.

@audemars: But it doesn't *TASTE* like licorice.

I followed the link and read other articles you guys had posted. Are you still looking for a way to get an intern into IDT? If you are, they're hiring:

[newyork.craigslist.org]

There are three identical listings, though they all say IDT is ONE of the energy companies you could possibly work for...so maybe it's not guaranteed that you'll get in there.

We had 3 of these people come about 30 minutes apart from each other. No doubt a van full drop off. One actually signed us up without our permission or signature??? 10 days later a confirmation notice comes in the mail. Good thing too, 'cause it took less than 10 minutes to cancel it.

They're back and active in Flatbush as of this afternoon.