Jul 2, 2009 5:55 pm US/Central
ADT Employee Scares Neighborhood For Business
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Homeowners in a well-maintained neighborhood in Brooklyn Park were concerned when this crime warning came to their door describing a home break-in through a slashed screen. (File)
CBS
A crime alert going out to neighbors in one Twin Cities suburb has both police and homeowners fuming.
The alert was left in newspaper boxes and doors last week warning people about an overnight break-in.
The official looking fliers alarmed the neighbors at first. However, it turns out the alert was false and used as a sales tactic.
Homeowners in a well-maintained neighborhood in Brooklyn Park were concerned when this crime warning came to their door describing a home break-in through a slashed screen.
"Slashed ... and entered while the occupants were inside," said Brooklyn Park resident Deana McFee.
The flier urged people to call the woman whose name and number is listed for a free in-home security review call.
Instead, neighbors called the police who said no such crime happened there.
"We called the telephone number on the flier ourself and found out it was actually an employee of an alarm system company who said that she had inadvertently sent out this flier to residents in Brooklyn Park when it was actually supposed to be a different suburb, " said Brooklyn Park Police Captain Craig Enevoldsen.
Police say she worked for ADT Home Security and she was using crime warnings to drum up business.
"So they were using, well, what I consider the fear factor to get people to give, you know, them a call to get a security system," said McFee.
"Crying wolf" like that has the police department up in arms.
"It's very troubling. They're needlessly alarming residents indicating that a crime had occurred in their neighborhood when, in fact, that wasn't the case what so ever," said Enevoldsen.
The neighbors were equally appalled.
"I'm in sales myself and I know that sometimes you have to go to great lengths but you should always be honest and that definitely was not an honest tactic," said McFee.
ADT Home Security management got a furious call from police.
"They apologized for everything that had occurred and said it's not their business practice to do anything like this," said Enevoldsen.
"It's never good business to not tell the truth," said McFee.
The voice mail of the woman whose information is on the flier says she is with ADT Home Security. She never called back.
A company spokesperson said that what the employee apparently did was not a normal ADT Home Security business practice.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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