SALT LAKE CITY -- Authorities are looking for victims who may have fallen victim to door-to-door scammers in Box Elder County.
Investigators say a man posing as an alarm salesman targeted people who already had systems installed in their home.
As of Tuesday night, police have 31 victims and they believe there are a lot more out there.
Brigham City resident Burke Rodgers was one of these victims.
“I was very embarrassed to think I had gotten caught in the scam,” Rodgers said.
It started with a knock on Rodgers’ door. The man on his front step claimed to be an employee with the company from Rodgers security system.
“He was very personable likable person very sociable and he was very professional,” Rodgers said.
Little did he know, Rodgers said, the man was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The security system employee, later identified as Joelseph Frank Jenkins, told Rodgers he needed to check the security system.
“The events he had described sounded logical to me,” Rodgers said.
Jenkins told Rogers due to a recent hail storm there were false alarms going off and he needed to see if their home was one of them.
“He opened it up and surely he said yes yours is one of them causing problems and I’ll have to replace the chip,” Rodgers said.
Rodgers watched as he replaced the chip then Jenkins pulled out a work order and offered Rogers a $10 discount a month on his system.
All he had to do was sign.
“He filled out the contract, I signed it and he assured me the old contract would be null and void and we shook hands and he left,” Rodgers said.
But after Rodgers and dozens of others in the area got double billed, police knew it wasn't a work order.
“In reality they were signing a contract with this company this individual was working with,” said Assistant Chief Dennis Vincent with Brigham City Police Department.
Police say it was a different company than the one Jenkins claimed to work for. As a result, Rodgers and several others were given two bills for two different security companies.
“It’s difficult because some of these people are so convincing you absolutely believe their story,” Vincent said.
Now Jenkins is behind bars with dozens of fraud charges.
The bulk of the victims were senior citizens.
“In our generation we trusted everybody I’m getting a little more skeptical now,” Rodgers said. “If a stranger knocks on my door now I’ll think twice about letting him in.”
Police say it's likely the man was getting commission on sales by simply installing a chip into the other company’s hardware.
Police say Jenkins also did this to homes in Idaho.
If you were a victim police ask that you call Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office at 435-723-5227.
Police want to remind everyone if someone comes to your door selling anything ask for their sales permit.
